Kitsune Majin
by kitsunemajin
Summary: The Kitsune Majin... A traitor to the Tokugawa Government. She invaded the Shinsengumi and informed the rebels on the government's plans. It wasn't until the last days of the war was she discovered. Soon after she disappeared. Ten years later, she's back.
1. Old Friends, New Adventures

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, myself, and a few other people did a few years ago. Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores!!!!

The Kitsune Majin..... A traitor to the Toguwa Government. She invaded the Shinsengumi and informed the rebels on the government's plans. It wasn't until the last days of the war was she discovered by her superior, Hajime Saitou. They fought in the burning warehouse, just outside Kyoto. After that battle she disappeared. She is a legend, few know her true identity, but, she is known to all as a true hero… This is her story.

I sighed and looked at the bartender.

"What can I get you?" The bartender asked me as he dried a glass.

"How about some of that western wine?" I said.

He brought it to me a few seconds later. I heard the door of the bar open and I felt the breeze as someone entered. Whoever it was took the seat next to me. Glancing over, I did a double take. This person, a woman, had ears like a wolf.

"Strongest beer available." The woman growled at the bartender. "What are you looking at?"

She had caught me looking at her.

"Nothing." I replied, looking back at the other side of the bar.

_Who is she?_ I thought. _I know I've seen her before, but where?_ Glancing over at her again, I notice that she is starting to sway in her chair.

"Do hiccup I know hiccup you?" She questioned me.

"I don't believe so." I responded, smiling a little at her.

Suddenly, the bar shook with an explosion. Instinctively, I ran to the door. There were plumes of smoke coming from where the American Ambassador's house is.

"Shit." I mumbled under my breath as I ran off toward the smoke.

As I ran, there was some sort of sound behind me. It sounded sort of like a dog. I glanced over my shoulder and there was the woman from the bar.

_Why the hell is she following me? She's going to get herself killed. Then again, not my problem._

There was the sound of someone landing next to me. The woman had lept up and was now running alongside me. I stopped.

"What the hell, who are you?" I panted.

"Ohkami, wolf demon and black magic extraordinaire. Now, with that said, who are you? I know I've met you before."

"I'm no one important."

"Sheesh, you humans are always so rude."

With that, she lept toward the house and looked back at me.

"Hurry up; I want to kick some ass!"

Grumbling under my breath I scaled a drainpipe and got onto the outer wall. When I jumped down, Ohkami was waiting for me.

"About time, now, let's see who or what the hell we're up against." She looked up at the building and her eyes glowed a strange purple. "There are seven of them, why the hell would they stay in a building that they were going to blow up?"

"Because the explosion didn't do what they wanted it to do," I replied before pulling the door open.

The fire rushed out at us and I froze up, thinking about the only other time I'd been in a building with a fire this bad. I was snapped out of my trance by a yelp of pain. Ohkami had been pinned down with a board that had fallen from the ceiling. Grasping the hilt and sheath of my sword, I look at the board.

Ohkami yelped as her attempt to throw it off failed. I drew my sword and sliced the board in two. The wolf demon got up and ran/limped up the stairs. Sighing, I followed her and hurried to meet her at the end of the hallway. There is a door, but it's locked.

Suddenly, Ohkami pushed me out of the way and kicked to door open.

"Come out whoever you are!" Ohkami yelled into the burning room. "Get the vandals; I'll deal with the intruder."

I looked at her curiously before I headed toward a group of men. When they saw her, all of them grinned and drew each of their weapons. One came at me, but before he could hit me, he was on the ground. The rest of them were dispatched in the same way.

There was the sound of something, or someone hitting the floor hard. I whirled around and saw Ohkami fighting what looked like a cat demon. It seemed as if Ohkami had transformed into a large wolf and was fighting the other woman. _Ohkami, now I remember. It's been a long time old friend._

A sudden crunch was heard and the cat demon screamed. The scuffle continued until the cat demon dug her claws into Ohkami's back. Ohkami didn't get up and the cat demon grinned.

"That was easy enough." The cat demon said.

A piece of ceiling fell in front of her and the cat demon made a quick escape. I hurried over to Ohkami. As I leaned down, Ohkami changed back into her original form and shook her head a bit before getting up.

"We have to get out of here." She told me as she limped over to the window. "We're going to have to jump."

With that, she grabbed me and lept out of the window. Fortunately, I landed softly. _Why the hell did she have to do that?_

Ohkami stood up and sighed. Then she looked at me.

"Well that was fun. God damn it, I need a beer. You want to come with me… Uh, what did you say your name was?"

"Izumi," I smiled. "I would be glad to Ohkami. Besides we need to catch up, three years is a long time."

A/N: I know this is kind of short, but I thought it would be a good place to end the chapter. I will work on the next chapter. I know no one from Rurouni Kenshin is here yet, hopefully they will be in the next chapter. Until then, see ya!


	2. Demon from the Past

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, myself, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you Ohkami for reviewing!!!! Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores!!!!

Means flashback.

Ohkami and I walked into the bar. There were a lot of people inside. For some reason, Ohkami growled and I saw the reason. The cat demon we had fought in the ambassador's house sat at a table in one of the corners. Giggling, the cat demon threw an empty bottle at us. Again Ohkami growled before heading toward the bar.

"I'm surprised that you didn't go after her." I commented as she ordered the 'strongest beer available.'

"I'm going to get drunk and then no one can blame me for whatever I do." Ohkami said before chugging her beer.

I smiled before turning toward the bartender. Something caught my eye and I did a double take. There, in the corner, was a man in a blue police uniform. His hair was jet black and his eyes were a golden color. He was tall, even by my standards.

_Shit, shit, shit. I need to get out of here before he sees me._

With that, I hurried toward the door. Outside, I found myself in a dark alley. I walked as fast as I could away from the bar.

Behind me, I heard the footsteps of someone who seemed to be drunk. I turned around and saw Ohkami sitting behind me. She gave me sort of a drunken wave.

"Hey Izumi." She said in sort of a drunken voice. "Why didja leave? You weren't trying to blow me off, were ya? You still owe me a drink ya know!"

"Ohkami," I growled. "the last time I bought you a drink you tried to take down the Meji Government by yourself. You thought that storming an office surrounded by a hundred guards by yourself would work. As for me leaving, it's none of your busyness."

"Funny, don't remember that." Ohkami looked at me blankly before giving me a 'sad puppy dog' face.

A look of disgust came over my face before I turned on my heel and walked away from her. My mind began to think of him.

_Why was he in that bar? Was it just coincidence or is he looking for me? The last time I fought him he said that if he ever saw me again that he'd kill me. I'm probably just overreacting. There is no way after ten years-_

Ohkami cut off my train of thought.

"Hey what's wrong?" She seemed to be coming out of her drunken stupor. "What happened at the bar?"

"Just drop it." My voice was unusually icy as I continued to walk away from her.

_I can't tell Ohkami. There are at least a dozen men who want my head and I don't know if she wouldn't turn me into them. Three years is a long time, and time changes people._

"Fine, be that way!" I heard Ohkami yell at me. "I'll just go and get another drink then. Humph."

Sighing, I left her and climbed the roof of the bar. I looked around. Mt. Hiei was on the outskirts of the city, I still needed to find out who that cat demon was, and that is probably where her hide out is.

Suddenly, there was the thud of someone landing on the roof.

"Finally after 10 years I've found you, Kitsune Majin." A frighteningly familiar voice said behind me.

I turned around and saw him. Time really hadn't changed Hajime Saito, he looked the same as he had back during the days that the Shinsengumi had ruled.

There was another thump and I saw Ohkami land on the roof, as gracefully as a drunk could. I felt my stomach get tight.

"Get out of here Ohkami!" I screamed at her before I drew my sword.

Then Saito attacked me. I blocked his first strike and his second. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the cat demon from earlier.

"No Izumi, I won't leave. You always treat me like a baby but I can take care of myself." Ohkami growled at me before shooting a purple beam of energy at Saito. "See."

Saito was caught off guard by Ohkami's attack and I slashed at him with my sword. He looked at me and smirked.

"Not bad Kitsune Majin, but it's not enough to beat me." Saito said before lunging at me.

I wasn't quick enough to dodge him and I felt a sharp pain in my side. There was blood pouring from my wound and I put my arm over it to try and stop the flow. Glaring, I looked into Saito's eyes.

"It seems you've lost your touch." He taunted me.

Slowly, I stood to my full height and clutched my sword, prepared for his next attack. He smiled and I lunged. Of course he blocked. We continued striking out at each other, our swords silver blurs.

Suddenly, there was another sharp pain in my side and I staggered back. I gripped my side and tried to steady myself. Everything was starting to get fuzzy and I knew that the blood loss was taking its toll. A second later, my world went dark and I blacked out.

Everything was getting hot around me. I opened my eyes and stood up. Looking down at myself, my jaw dropped. For some reason, I was wearing my old Shinsengumi uniform from the war.

"Kitsune Majin, you will not escape." I heard Saito's voice echo through the old warehouse.

I tried to move away from where the voice was coming from. Then I saw him. He was in his Gatotsu stance. My breath was caught in my throat.

"It is good to see that you are still alive." He taunted me. "Now we will have our fight."

With that he lunged at me with his most deadly attack, the Gatotsu. I dodged it and leapt on to a box, drawing my sword. Springing off the box, I aimed my sword at him. He blocked my attack and countered. My movements were slow and I barely blocked the attack.

_If I make one mistake, he'll kill me. I can't make any mistakes. I must be fighting at a quarter my normal strength in this fire. He's sweating, but that's probably from this inferno. Damn it. I can't screw up._

Saito came at me with a point blank Gatotsu. I received the full force of the attack. It knocked me on the ground and I lay there struggling to breath. There was no way that I had the energy to get up.

"So Kitsune Majin, now you know what happens when you betray the Toguwa Shogonate and the Shinsengumi." Saito growled as he slowly stepped toward me.

Involuntarily, I saw images flash in front of my eyes. A boy in a white gi, and a man in a blue uniform, with a red head band. Then there was a voice, it was the little boy's.

"Izumi, when you come back, can you teach me to ride Dancer."

Hearing the little boy's voice, I gained strength. I stood up and looked Saito in the eye.

"I won't fall Saito, you can't kill me, I won't let you. I have too much riding on this fight. And as for betraying the Toguwa Government, if you, the leader of the 3rd squad of the Shinsengumi couldn't figure out I was a traitor, then you shouldn't complain. If it wasn't for this dam scar, you would never have figured it out. I made a promise Saito, and I don't intend to break it."

Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled out of the building and I opened my eyes. I was on the roof of the bar. Getting up, I realized something. Saito had a sword that he was pointing at me and mine was no where to be found.

"Shit," I mumbled under my breath.

Just then I noticed Ohkami flying at me. She missed me, but barely. Then I saw my sword. It was next to the cat demon. Using the strength I had left, I leapt for it and grabbed it. I stood up and looked at Saito. He came at me with a Gatotsu. I dodged it and stood on the edge of the building.

"Too slow Saito. You couldn't kill me ten years ago and you can't kill me now." I smiled.

"Well I believe that you said it was better to try and fail than ever try." He smirked at me.

"I also said that I also said that it isn't worth fighting if you have nothing to lose. That is the reason I beat you in that warehouse. I had something to lose, two people who needed me. Two people I loved. So, unless you have something very important to lose then you won't win."

"You can't blame me for trying Kitsune Majin."

With that he came at me again. I blocked his attack and countered. He started breathing hard and smirked.

"What's the matter Saito?" I asked in teasing tone. "Out of breath, or are you just getting old?"

"If there is anyone who has slowed down." He growled as he stood up. "It is you Kitsune Majin."

"Give me a brake, I just woke up from being knocked out, I think I'm doing pretty well."

With that I lunged at him. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Ohkami fighting the cat demon. She seemed to be doing fine, so I smiled and jumped off the roof, grabbing the drain pipe and swinging on the building on the other side of the alley. I saw Saito do the same and I grinned.

Then I heard the Ohkami.

"See you later Neko, if I don't go blind." Then I saw her jump off the roof.

"What are you, suicidal?" the cat demon, Neko asked the crazed wolf demon.

Saito suddenly went on the offensive. I felt myself slowly being backed against the wall. Suddenly, one of his attacks grazed my side. It was bleeding pretty badly and I knew that I was going to be out cold, again, within the next few minutes. _Maybe I should just get ready to die._

The image of the little boy flashed in front of my eyes and I heard him speak.

"Izumi, will I ever see you again?" He asked me.  
"What does your heart say?" I questioned him.  
"Yes."  
"Then we will see each other again. I can't wait for that day."

I opened my eyes and saw Saito coming at me. At that moment, I gained the strength that I had fought him with ten years ago. Soon, it was he who was backed up against the edge of the building. He took a misstep and slipped off, barely able to grab onto the edge of the roof.

Without thinking, I hurried over and grabbed his hand.

"Hold on Saito." I said through gritted teeth as I pulled him up.

We both sat on the roof, trying to regain our breath. Then he spoke.

"Why did you save me, you could have killed me."

"Ever since we last fought, I haven't killed anyone. I don't intend to start now. Like I told you last time we fought, no should have to die because of what they believe."

With that, I stood up and made my way down the fire escape, leaving Saito to his thoughts.

A/N: I promise that Kenshin will be in the next chapter. Hope you all like.


	3. A Traitor's Past

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, myself, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you to ohkamimajin and FairyMage for reviewing!!! Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores!!!! A double line means flash back.

Sighing, I made my way to the bar. Ohkami was no where to be found. _Oh well, the last time she disappeared, I found in an alley with a beer bottle. This will probably be no different._

With an exasperated look, I looked into the bar one more time before turning around and heading out of the bar. As I stood in the alley I suddenly heard Ohkami's voice.

"Izumi, you're alive, where are you?" She asked, turning her head in every direction.

"I'm right behind you." I blinked, then I spotted Neko. "Oh shit. Come on Ohkami."

I grabbed Ohkami's sleeve and started to run. Ohkami seemed to be dragging her feet, but I didn't notice it until we had gotten as far away from the bar as we could. Panting, I leaned up against one of the walls of the alley.

"Umm thanks for getting me out of there Izumi, but that woman with the white magic was going to help me." Ohkami told me.

"I didn't see anyone but that Neko person." I replied, breathing hard. "The last time you saw something, it was a trash can with big teeth and it was chasing you. Besides, you're drunk anyway."

Before she could reply, Ohkami blinked and a huge grin came over her face, then she responded.

"For your information I was eleven, and that thing was real. Plus the fact that demons recover from drunken spells a lot quicker than humans do so blarg." She stuck her tongue out at me, but quickly the look in her eyes became serious.

"What is-" I was cut off as I felt a sharp pain in my side.

I fell to my knees, clutching my side. Everything around me got blurry. Ohkami picked me up and we traveled from roof top to roof top. Then I saw Saito try to follow us. The next instant I blacked out.

There was a light next to me. It was really bright. Slowly, I opened my eyes but quickly closed them again. The light was lessened and I opened my eyes again. Next to me sat a man, not much older than myself, kneeling next to me. He had red hair and a cross shaped scar on his cheek. Before I could speak, a woman with black hair and coffee brown eyes entered.

"How is our patient doing Sir Ken?" The woman asked the one sitting next to me.

"It seems that she has woken up, that she has." He replied in a somewhat cheerful voice.

"How are you feeling?" The woman directed the question to me.

"Sore, and tired." I told her as I tried to sit up.

"You shouldn't sit up quite yet." The woman scolded. "I will prepare some herbal tea, Sir Ken, will you please stay with her."

"Of course Miss Megumi." He said. "Miss Megumi said that you shouldn't get up and I agree with her, that I do."

"Yeah, sword wounds can be a bitch, then you would probably know that, wouldn't you, Battousai." I growled as I continued to sit up.

"This one is no longer known by that name." He helped me sit up. "At the end of the war I became a rurouni and go by Kenshin."

"That doesn't seem like the same guy I fought back ten years ago."

"I do not remember fighting-"

"I was Shinsengumi, or at least Michi Takihashi was. You probably know me better as Kitsune Majin. We met a few times around the rebel compound. And why the hell do you have to keep up that shit? Kitsune Majin is gone, so stop pretending."

"It is habit."

"Ten years? I was found out at the end of the war."

"Your friend out there seems worried."

"Ohkami would be; she hates doctors. They refused to treat her parents."

Suddenly the one known as Megumi rushed in.

"Sir Ken, Saito is here." She was out of breath.

I stood up and followed Kenshin out of the room. Ohkami stood in what looked like a waiting room with Saito and some strange woman with a celestial glow. For some reason, Ohkami's voice seemed to pierce the air.

"What are you doing here Saito?" Her voice was like ice.

"Izumi can handle a lot; I knew she'd survive that slice, so I decided that I wanted to find out what that traitor has been doing for the past ten years." He growled at her.

"You want me, you've got me." I told Saito.

The entire group turned toward me. Saito then smiled when he saw Kenshin.

"How nice of you to join us Battousai." He smirked. "Unfortunately my busyness is with her."

"Then I suppose you wouldn't mind if I asked you what you wanted Captain." I growled under my breath.

"I've always wondered what a traitor like you could be doing for the past ten years."

"Wandering, did that for quite a while before coming back here and becoming a police officer, much like yourself. What about you?"

"None of your damn busyness Kitsune Majin."

"Oh will you knock it off Saito." I said exasperated. "So what if I was a traitor. You didn't know that I was the Kitsune Majin until…"

I stopped and looked at the door. There was something there. The strange woman poked the air near it. Not liking the situation, I reached for my sword, it wasn't there. Now I was starting to panic.

"umm Ohkami." I said. "Two questions, one who is she, and where the hell is my sword?"

"I dun no." Ohkami looked at me blankly. "And um, she's Kana."

"Okay." I replied as I got into battle position.

Suddenly, a wave of pain shot through my side. I fell to my knees. Everything started to get fuzzy. _You will not black out again. Awe damn it._

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Sighing, I made my way through the Shinsengumi headquarters. It was a chilly winter night, and I pulled my hands into the sleeves of my kimono. Tonight I was to see Ringo Hidaka. He's an informant for the Shinsengumi. According to him, I would meet him, or he'd reveal my secret.

As much as I don't believe that he's smart enough to figure out that I am the Kitsune Majin, I think that he might have. He said to meet him in one of the warehouses at the edge of Kyoto. Whatever he wanted, it was a huge secret. I was to tell no one, and I was to make sure that no one followed me.

Slowly, I opened the door of the abandoned warehouse. I saw him standing in the middle of it with a candle in his hand. His sword was still sheathed, so I was safe for the moment. Then I saw his face and my heart stopped. That bastard Hidaka knew.

"It is good to see you Michi, or should I say Kitsune Majin." He looked very proud of himself.

"What the hell do you want Hidaka?" I growled, moving so that he couldn't see me.

"I want to be the one who brings the infamous Kitsune Majin to justice."

"You defeat me?" I asked laughing. "I have defeated the Battousai, you have no chance."

"Oh really. I know all about you Kitsune Majin. How you are a spy for the rebels, how you are friends with the Battousai, and how you have no intention of allowing the Toguwa Government to stand. If I don't kill you, then I'll make it so some one else will find you."

With that, Hidaka lunged at me with what looked like a branding stick for cattle. I dodged and jumped onto a box. Hidaka tipped the box and I fell, nearly tearing my kimono top. Not wanting a torn kimono, I took it off and stood in front of Hidaka in an undershirt.

Smiling, he lunged at me again. This time, when I dodged, I landed on my ankle sideways. A gasp escaped my lips. He was right on top of me, and he drove the red end of the steel into my shoulder.

It felt as if my skin was being touched by lava. I let out a scream. Instinctively, I kicked out and got him off my back. Slowly, I stood up and looked at Hidaka. He was still on the ground, trying to regain his breath.

Without hesitation, I walked over to him. Drawing my sword, I raised it above my head. My sword came down with all my strength and Hidaka's head rolled away from his body. Suddenly, I smelt something. It was smoke.

Looking around, I saw where it was coming from. Hidaka had left a fire going near some of the crates. The crates had caught fire and had begun to fill the warehouse with smoke.

Hurriedly, I grabbed the top of my kimono, along with Hidaka's cloak and ran out of the building. I didn't stop until I was in the forest. There I found a stream that had yet to be frozen by the winter chill.

I dipped the cloak into the stream and put it on my shoulder. The burn hurt worse than hell. Slowly, the cloak started to freeze and I quickly tore part of it off. Then I put what wasn't frozen back in the water and tied it to my shoulder. Wincing from pain, I slowly put my kimono top on.

Sighing, I looked at the inferno that was once a warehouse one last time, before turning and walking back to the Shinsengumi headquarters.

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The next day, I was woken by the commotion outside my room. Someone had found a letter written by Hidaka about the Kitsune Majin. It didn't mention a name, but it said that the traitor would be marked with a brand on the shoulder of a circle with a fox head inside.

Everyone was ordered to search the remains of the burned down warehouse. Hidaka's letter had said that he was meeting the traitor there last night.

Slowly, I walked through the remains of the warehouse. I carried a small clay wedge in my pocket, just in case I found the branding stick, so I could show it to my superiors.

As I looked around something steel caught my eye. I leaned down toward it and I grinned inwardly. It was the stick. Quickly, I pulled the clay out of my pocket and made an imprint of the impression. Then I picked it up and headed over to the leader of the 3rd squad of the Shinsengumi, Hajime Saito.

"Sir," I said as I handed it to him. "I think I've found it."

"It seems you have." He replied, looking at the end. "Now that we know what this looks like, have you seen anyone with a new burn recently?"

"No sir, but I do have a favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"My mother is sick. I was wondering if I could go home to see her."

"Of course, how long?"

"I don't know sir. The doctor thinks that she won't live to see spring."

"I see, go ahead. Send word when you are ready to return."

"Thank you sir." I bowed before turning and heading toward headquarters to pack my stuff.

About a half hour later, I was on my grey mare. We loped toward the southern part of the city. It took us a few minutes to reach the forest, and those few minutes were torture. The pain that radiated from my shoulder was indescribable. Then I noticed a tree down in front of us. So that my mount wouldn't refuse the jump, I squeezed with my calves. My mare took it all in stride.

Soon, the base came into sight. I could see several men outside, all of which glared at me. Then I saw a man with red hair and a cross shaped scar exit the main building. He moved to intercept me before the others could.

I slowed my mount to a halt and he grabbed the reins before looking up at me.

"What is your business?" Chimera asked me.

"My mother has fallen ill." I replied.

"Where is your mother?"  
"Here, in the fox's lair."

"It is good to see you again Izumi." He smiled.

"It is good to see you too Kenshin." I got off my horse and he led her away.

"What are you doing here?" I heard behind me.

"There has been an unexpected development." I turned around and saw Yoshi Shindo, the creator of the Kitsune Majin concept.

"Come then."

He led me inside the main building. We made our way to one of the inner rooms. The only thing that lit the room was a candle in the middle of the floor. About ten men lined the outside of the room. One of them caught my eye, but I couldn't go over to him just yet.

"Apparently there has been an unexpected development in regards to the Kitsune Majin." Shindo told the group before moving aside so I could speak.

"A member of the Shinsengumi, Ringo Hidaka, was a spy on the rebels. Somehow he found out the identity of the Kitsune Majin. He lured him to a warehouse at the outskirts of Kyoto under the pretenses of revealing the secret of the Kitsune Majin." I said. "When he met Hidaka, Hidaka told him that he had found out the true identity of the Kitsune Majin. He had a branding stick, with which, he managed to mark the back of the Kitsune Majin's shoulder. Hidaka had written a letter to the Shinsengumi, saying that he was leaving a brand on the traitor. Fortunately, Hidaka did not reveal the name of the Kitsune Majin in the letter. I have a molding of the mark."

With that, I pulled the piece of clay out of my pocket and handed it to Shinto. He looked at it and then looked at me gravely.

"Was Hidaka destroyed?" He questioned.

"The only thing that is left of him is ashes in the Kyoto wind." I responded.

"Good then." He looked down at the molding and sighed. "Tell the Kitsune Majin to get the burn cleaned up."

"Yes sir."

I made my way out of the room and the man I saw earlier followed me.

"Are you alright Izumi?" Souzou Sagara asked me.

"Shoulder hurts like hell, but other than that, I'm fine."

"Well let's get that looked at."

We walked side by side toward one of the back buildings of the compound. My room was back here in case of an attack, so that there was little risk of me getting found out. I opened the door and threw off my sandals before collapsing onto my futon. Souzou smiled before grabbing some medical stuff from my closet.

"Let's see this burn." He said as he sat behind me.

Slowly, I let the top of my kimono slide down my arms, revealing the patch of cloth I had put over the burn to try and keep it so that my shirt didn't rub against it. I let out a gasp as he pulled it off. The skin had healed onto the piece of cloth and the burn hurt a lot.

"I'm surprised you could even put a shirt on, much the less swing a sword." Souzou mused as he began to clean the burn.

I clenched my eyes shut, trying to ignore the pain. Tears escaped from my eyes. An occasional gasp escaped my lips. The pain was almost unbearable. Finally, I felt him tie a new piece of cloth to my shoulder. Upon feeling that I let out a sigh of relief.

He stood up and put the medical supplies away before sitting down in front of me and pulling me to him. I buried my face in his chest and let the tears flow. The burn hurt worse than I could ever imagine it could hurt. Souzou held me tight and I relaxed. Slowly, I pulled back and wiped my eyes.

"Better?" He looked down at me and smiled.

"Yeah." I smiled and looked into his eyes.

Our faces moved closer to each other and our lips brushed for a moment before the door of my room flew open. Souzou and I looked up to see seven year old Sanosuke running into my room. He jumped on the futon and smiled at the two of us.

"I didn't know you were coming back now Izumi." He said with the wave of someone who had just had a nap.

"I didn't know that you were allowed on the compound." I replied, glaring at Souzou who gave me a sheepish grin.

"The Captain said that I could watch some of the swordsmen practice." Sano didn't notice how Souzou was getting a bigger look on his face every second.

"How about you head to bed Sano?" I suggested. "It is almost that time."

"Alright." He sighed and hugged me before leaving Souzou and I alone.

"So," I turned to my lover. "Why did you bring him here anyway? You know as well as I do that this place is dangerous."

"Where else was he going to go?" He smiled and got up, going over to my wardrobe.

"True. Just please make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

"Of course." He smiled as he pulled out a sleeping kimono for me.

I gave him an exasperated look. My shoulder hurt enough with the bandage on it. There was a small chance that the kimono wouldn't irritate it.

"It is winter Izumi." He chided gently. "You can't sleep without a kimono.

"Yes I can." I smiled and pulled him down on the futon with me. "As long as you're with me."

"I see where this is going." He smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist.

I buried my head in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent. Sighing, I closed my eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

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I sat at a bar on the outskirts of Kyoto waiting for Souzou. The war was over a year ago and he'd been recruited as the leader of the Sekihoutai army. He was supposed to meet me at this bar a half hour ago. It wasn't like Souzou to be late, and I was starting to get worried.

Standing up, I paid for my drinks and headed out. I untied my grey mare and hopped on her back. Urging her into a gallop, I steered her toward the forest. We galloped for a few minutes before we came upon a massacre. My heart skipped a beat. The corpses wore the Sekihoutai uniform.

As I came to a cliff, there was a headless corpse lying near the edge. I felt tears threaten to fall as I recognized the body. It was Souzou. In his hand was a letter. Slowly, I got off my mare and took the letter.

Suddenly, I heard a cry coming from the ravine below. As I stood on the edge, I saw Sano sitting on the bank, holding his head. I fought back the tears as I went down to get the frightened child, only thinking of Souzou being dead.

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I sat in what remained of the Rebel Compound the next day. The compound had been abandoned at the end of the war and it was a very good hiding place. Sighing, I looked at Sano who lay fast asleep on my futon. He'd been up crying all night. It had taken all of my strength to stay sane enough to comfort Sano.

Sighing, I finally let my tears fall. _Damn it, Souzou… Why did they kill you? Damn Meji Pigs, you gave up your life so that you could fight for them and they turned around and killed you because they couldn't hold up the promises they made. I wish I had gone with you. Then you might have lived._

_This morning I saw your head on a slab in the middle of town. Those Meji bastards. They said that you had been spreading false stories and whoever does that is killed. We both gave up our lives because of promises that the Meji government made, why the hell can't they just leave those who gave up everything alone._

_Sano can't stay here. I'm going to send him to Tokyo in the morning. There isn't much I can do. I'll probably go to Yokohama for a while until the aftermath is done here. After that, who knows what I'll do. Oh Inari, why?_

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I came too slowly and felt myself being carried somewhere in a hurry. It took me a few seconds to realize who it was.

"Put me down Saito." I said.

He must have been shocked to find out that I was awake because he came to sort of a sliding stop. Slowly, he put me down.

"What the hell happened? I remember being in the waiting room and then…" My voice drifted off.

Then I heard Ohkami running up behind me.

"Saito you put her down no- never mind. Yay! You're alive! Well, I knew that, but you're conscious..." Ohkami seemed to be a little out of it.

Just then, Kana landed beside them. She did some sort of weird magic and all of our wounds were healed. Then she seemed to be off in thought before giggling. I just shook my head before glancing over at Saito. He seemed to want to say something, but really couldn't.

"We should get out of here." He told her as he turned and walked toward the street.

"Don't you guys ever stay still for a few seconds?" Ohkami whined as I matched strides with Saito.

I snuck glances at Saito and I saw him doing the same. _What could he want? Is there something that he wants to tell me but doesn't want the others to hear?_

A few minutes later we got rooms at an inn not far down the street. I stepped out onto the balcony of my room. Ohkami jumped onto my balcony and smiled. Suddenly, I felt a strange presence behind me.

"Hey Izumi, I'm going to crash here." Ohkami told her. "They saw my ears and wouldn't let me in. I'll be good; you won't even know I'm here."

With that Ohkami transformed in to one of her lower level forms, a black German Shepard with a silver ankh on its back. I ignored her and turned around.

There, in front of me, stood Souzou. A silvery mist outlined him. I took an uncertain step toward him.

"Souzou?" My voice was barely a whisper.

"It is good to see you again Izumi. Now you must get out of here. You are in danger. Saito will kill you." Souzou said, looking at me intently.

"But he saved me." I protested.

"What has gotten into you my love? He's the enemy. You were a traitor. Saito will kill you.

"But…"

"Please, go. It would kill me if something happened to you." With that he stepped toward me and touched my cheek before kissing me.

"Umm… Izumi, who are you talking to?" Ohkami questioned, "I mean 'woof.'"

"What, but," I looked around confused. "But didn't you see him?"

"Who?"

"But…" I looked over to where I had seen the figure, and then I sighed. "I must be going crazy. This place brings back too many memories."

"Who didja see?" Ohkami wagged her tail. "Maybe someone is trying to tell you something. Spirits sometimes try to communicate with people through dreams. Of course you weren't sleeping but…"

"No one of consequence." I smiled before putting my jacket on. "I'm going out. I don't know when I'll be back."

With that, I got out of my room. I was in such a dazed state that I walked the streets of Kyoto without really knowing where I was going. My feet were taking me somewhere, and I didn't have any real control.

After about fifteen minutes, I found myself on the cliff where I had found Souzou's body. Sighing, I felt tears well up in my eyes. I looked down at the grave that I had made before leaving for Yokohama. This is the first time I've been here in ten years.

_Oh Souzou. Was it really you that I saw in my hotel room? But if it was then… Why don't you want me to trust Saito? I can't explain it but I just feel as if I can trust him. You always told me to follow my instinct. Well that is what it tells me, that I can trust Saito. I'm sorry._

Turning to go, I bumped into someone. It was Saito.

"What are you doing here," I asked him.

"I…" He drifted off before moving closer to me.

I felt his warm breath on my face. Slowly, he moved closer and we kissed.

A/N: That is done for now. I wanted to stop there, one because I want to post this before I go to bed, and two so this isn't like 3,000 pages long. Please review. Who knows when the next one will be out so review and I might update soon.


	4. Lover's Choice

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, myself, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you to FairyMage and ohkamimajin for reviewing!!! Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores!!!! A double line means flash back.

Slowly I walked back to the inn. My mind was cloudy with thoughts about Saito. _Oh Inari, how can Saito and I… I know I had a crush on him during the war but… We were, are, worst enemies. But how come… Damn._

With that I looked up at the sky and sighed before walking into the inn's courtyard. Then I spotted Ohkami and Neko in front of me.

"Shit," I whispered as I jumped behind the edge of the building.

I took a second to steady myself. _Where the hell is my sword?_ Floated through my mind. It hadn't been returned to me after I got out of the clinic.

Then, I noticed a figure with a silvery outline. It wasn't far away from me. My jaw dropped when I recognized it. The figure was Souzou. He stood looking at Ohkami and Neko before turning and looking at me. His lips curled into a smile, a cold sadistic smile.

"Hello Izumi." He said in a sinister voice.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my arm. I struggled to stay standing. Flashes of light started whizzing by me. Doing the best I could, I tried to get to cover.

"Shit." I muttered under my breath.

I felt myself being pushed by someone. As I reached the side of the building, I saw Saito. He had a few tears in his shirt and cuts on his arms and face.

"Saito?" My voice didn't sound like it was mine.

"Be quiet, you're hurt," he ordered me. "I'll take care of this."

With that, he moved to the other side of the wall and started to walk toward the figure of Souzou. Suddenly, Kana appeared and matched strides with Saito before stopping and talking to him. I couldn't hear what she said but Souzou disappeared.

"What the hell was that?" I asked myself as I heard people running.

"Izumi!" A familiar voice yelled.

Something supported me as I felt my knees go weak.

"Are you alright?" Kenshin asked me.

"I'm fine." I said, looking up. "It's good to see you again Sano."

"Wait minute…" Sano looked from me to Kenshin. "How do?"

"Long story." I replied as I put some weight on my feet.

"We must go." A young man told Kenshin and Sano. "There is an angry spirit here. And it is after her." He pointed at me.

"What are you talking about Kazuki?" Sano stared at his friend. "Who would want to put a curse on Izumi?"

"Ask her." He growled.

Sano and Kenshin both looked at me curiously. Thankfully Saito pushed Sano away.

"What are you doing here roster?" He mocked Sano.

"What if I said that Izumi is a good friend?" Sano got right up into Saito's face.

"So that is it." Kenshin whispered, looking from Saito to me. "He's the one."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I said as I brushed past them.

I started walking to my room. _Oh shit. Why the hell is Souzou being jealous? I mean, he always said the he wanted me to be happy no matter what but then again…How the hell did he find out how I feel about Saito? I mean, we did kiss, but still… I never said anything._

"What's up Izumi, are you okay?" Ohkami's voice came out of a dog that stood in front of me.

"Drop it Ohkami," I growled. "Please change out of your dog form. You're starting to freak them out." I motioned the Sano and Kazuki behind us.

With that, I headed toward my room. Ohkami followed me. Once inside, I collapsed onto my bed. Ohkami transformed back into her human type form.

"Want me to heal you?" She asked.

"What do I have to lose?" I sighed and pulled my shirt off.

Ohkami got into a chanting position. _Tcha thca em ankh. _I heard her chant. Suddenly, my arm felt healed.

"Thanks." I smiled, feeling a little better. "Sorry I was a little short tempered."

"No problem." Ohkami replied, patting my shoulder.

Then, there was a knock on the door. Ohkami got up and opened it. Kenshin and Sanosuke stood there. Both looked at me eagerly. I sat up straighter as they walked in the room. Sano sat down next to me on the bed while Kenshin kneeled next to it.

"Are you alright Izumi?" Kenshin looked at me.

"Fine thanks to Ohkami." I motioned to Ohkami, who sat in one of the chairs.

"How you doing?" Sano smiled at Ohkami.

Ohkami giggled and I gave Sano a death look, before looking out the window. Kenshin touched my arm to get my attention. I looked at him curiously.

"Do you know why this is happening?" He asked me quietly.

"Not really." I replied.

Without warning, a wave of pain shot through my burn. I pitched forward and Sano caught me. For some reason, I couldn't talk. The pain was almost unbearable. Kenshin must have gotten up, because I felt him pull my inner shirt off. The three of them gasped.

"But I thought I healed you." Ohkami's voice was surprised.

"That thing doesn't look good." Sano added.

"I guess black magic can't heal everything." Ohkami mused while looking at it.

"This isn't new." I gasped between breaths. "I got it ten years ago. Damn, it feels like it did… When I just got it."

I looked up at the others. Kenshin nodded gravely while Ohkami sat there looking thoughtful. Sano was looking at me as if I was crazy.

"Whoa whoa whoa," He seemed a little upset. "Don't tell me you think there are such things as ghosts."

"I do believe that you have a friend who is a shaman Sano." Kenshin told him.

"Well if they do," Sano continued ranting. "Who would want to do something like this to you?"

"Why don't you go find Saito Sano?" I urged him, not looking in his eyes.

"But-" Kenshin must have given Sano a death look because he got up and walked out of the room.

"I'm guessing you know who did this." Ohkami remarked as Sano closed the door.

"Well, if my memory serves me, then yeah." I grimaced as the pain became more intense.

"Why would Souzou want to put a curse on you?" Kenshin questioned me.

"Uh oh." Ohkami whispered. "We better go find Saito."

With that, the three of us ran out of the room. We almost ran into Sano and Saito in the hallway. I looked at Saito for a second before something caught my eye. It was Souzou's ghost. He smiled before shooting a beam of light at Saito. To my horror, the beam hit Saito and he fell to the ground.

"Why Souzou?" I asked, tears threatening to fall. "What did Saito ever do to you?"

"He stole you from me." Souzou's voice was like ice. "And for that, he must pay."

With that, he shot another beam of light at Saito. This time, Sano stepped in the way. He took the full force of it, yet remained standing.

"Sano…" Souzou's voice trailed off.

"Be gone demon!" Kazuki's voice growled from behind us.

"I will get my revenge Izumi." Souzou whispers as he starts to disappear. "I promise."

"Let's get Saito out of the hallway." Kenshin said as he helped me carry Saito to my room.

As we placed him on the bed, Kazuki looked menacingly at Ohkami.

"I can heal him if you want." She suggested. "I may not be able to see ghosts but I can still heal him."

"Demon voodoo doesn't work on humans bitch." Kazuki spat.

_Death wish._

"Oh yeah. Well for thing, ghosts and humans are two very different things, don't get them confused. And two, I've used my magic on humans tons of times. So maybe you should check your info before you wrongly accuse me next time."

"Stupid demons." Kazuki mouthed as Ohkami healed Saito, who groaned and sat up.

"So who's magic doesn't work now?" She asked triumphantly.

"Are you alright?" I sat down next to Saito.

"Fine." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"What do we do now?" I turned my attention to Ohkami.

"The ghost is gone for now, but probably not for long. You're sword isn't going to much damage. He has magic so he's got the advantage."

"I know."

"The only way to get rid of a ghost is to make its soul pure." Kazuki looked at me instead of Ohkami. "Anger taints a ghost."

"How the hell am I supposed to get rid of his anger?"

"Who is the ghost?" Saito looks into my eyes.

"That's not the only way." Ohkami spat back at Kazuki. "Ghosts who stay sometimes have unfinished busyness. If he completes it, he goes into the afterlife. But since we don't know what the unfinished busyness could be…"

"Izumi." Saito gently touched my arm. "Who is the ghost?"

"My lover, Souzou Sagara." I didn't look at him.

"We're just going to have to explain." Ohkami's voice was somewhat soothing. "If he really loved you then he'll understand."

"I'm sorry Izumi." Saito's voice didn't register until he was at the door.

"It's the only way." Kazuki smiled triumphantly.

"No." My voice was hoarse.

"I'm sorry. I love you Izumi." Saito closed the door behind him.

"Wait a minute!" Sano stood up all of a sudden. "So that is why the Captain is angry. Oh… Wait a minute! You're in love with Saito!!!"

"It took you long enough," Kazuki shook his head.

"Everyone knew?" Sano looked dumbfounded.

All of us nodded. Sano scowled before I stood up.

"Ohkami," I looked at her. "I know how we can do this. The spell we used when we fought those demons in Tokyo."

"There is no spell that can let a demon see demons." Kazuki's voice rang.

"You should mind your mouth, that you should." Kenshin seemed to appear again.

"You with me Ohkami?"

"Damn straight."

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I ran as fast as I could to the cliff where Souzou was killed. That was the only place that they could go. It was where Souzou died and Saito and I kissed. My breath was coming out in puffs. Sano, Kenshin, and Ohkami were behind me. Suddenly, we came to the hill, Saito was on the ground and I rushed to help him up.

"You alright?" I asked him as I let him lean on me.

"Fine." He whispered.

"Why Izumi?" Souzou gasped and I looked at him; tears were streaming down his face. "How could you fall in love with him, a Shinsengumi? It was they who put that brand on your shoulder. You didn't trust them then, why do you trust them now?"

With that, he shot another beam of light at me. Sano stepped in front of it and took its full force. He staggered before glaring at Souzou.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but don't kill Saito." Sano yelled as he gripped his shoulder. "If you kill him, then you'll be killing a part of Izumi."

"Izumi!" Ohkami's voice broke my thoughts. "I think I know a way that we can defeat him."

"How?" I whispered.

"You wouldn't understand…" Souzou was still talking.

"Try me." Sano seemed to be trying to keep him busy.

"Sanosuke, you were too young."

"Well," Ohkami whispered in my ear. "If his deepest desire is fulfilled, then he can pass into the next life. I can make it seem to him that Saito is dead. Hopefully it will work."

"It better. Go ahead, do it." I murmured.

"Can't you see that Izumi is happy?" Sano was doing a hell of a job distracting Souzou.

"I can never let her love that bastard. He's a liar and a killer. He tried to kill her ten years ago, and as soon as he gets the chance, he'll finish the job. I can't let him do that. I'm sorry Sano." With that, Souzou shot a beam of light at Sano.

Suddenly, there was a light surrounding Souzou. A few seconds later, it vanished. The whole area seemed to become lighter, as if a dark force was surrounding us. Sighing, I looked down at Saito. My heart stopped. He wasn't breathing.

"Ohkami, we need to get Saito to a doctor now." I didn't even recognize my voice.

"Sheesh, what is it and you humans with doctors?" Ohkami asked as she healed Saito.

"Think you could heal me too gorgeous?" Sano limped and sat down next to us.

Ohkami giggled before healing Sano. I smiled and shook my head.

"I can't believe that your influence hasn't changed him one bit." I whispered to Kenshin.

Kenshin smiled as he helped me get Saito to his feet. Ohkami and Sano were still flirting until Kenshin nudged Sano with his toe.

"So what's next?" Kenshin looked around at us.

"Let's go to the bar." Ohkami suggested, hopping up. "You still owe me a drink Izumi."

"Sure, why not?" I smiled and paused to look at the sunrise before following the others to the bar.

A/N: I've been working on this a lot because we've had 4 snow days. Hopefully everyone likes. This is not the end of the story, there is plenty more to go.


	5. Adventures into Ohkami's Past

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, I, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you to FairyMage and ohkamimajin for reviewing! Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores! A double line means flash back. Single line means scene change.

Sighing, I lifted my glass of wine to my lips. Ohkami had already finished her third beer and both she and Sano were singing old samurai drinking songs. Kenshin had returned to the inn he was staying at because he was leaving in a few days for Tokyo. He promised me that he would be back once he told a Miss Kaoru what was going on.

Saito had stayed with us and was sitting next to me now. He was glaring at Ohkami and Sano who were starting to make a scene. I smiled at his reaction.

As I lifted my glass to take a sip; I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. When I turned to see what it was, I saw a strange old man sitting at a table in the corner. Something seemed to surround him, something almost evil. I don't know why, but I was drawn to him.

Suddenly, I found myself sitting across from him at his table. He smiled; a really creepy smile, it sent chills down my spine. His eyes were even more sinister, they were a deep shade of red, and they seemed to be staring into my soul.

"It is good to see you again Izumi." His voice was raspy.

"Who are you?" I asked him nervously. "And how do you know my name?"

"I am a demon." He replied, still grinning. "I know you through Ohkami."

"What the hell does Ohkami have to do with this?"

"Demons have not always run wild here in the so called human realm."

"Okay, buddy, you're nuts. I'm not going to let you waist anymore of my time." I growled at him as I stood up.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn." He told me mysteriously before disappearing.

I blinked and looked back at the seat again. _But he was just there, how did?_

"Izumi, hiccup, you want to buy me, hiccup, another beer?" Ohkami's voice broke my thoughts.

Looking over, I saw her sitting on the chair, barely. I looked back at the table for a second before walking back over to the others. Sighing, I sat back down on my stool and took a sip of my wine. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my arm.

"Are you alright?" Saito questioned, looking into my eyes.

"Tired, I guess." I sighed, sipping more of my wine.

"You should get home." He said gently.

"I know, but I'm not going to leave Ohkami in a bar unsupervised."

"She survived this long without it."

"She never had a drunken Sano near her. Who knows what could happen."

"Let's go. I'll walk you home."

"But-"

"Shh."

He put his finger to my lips. Then he pulled me off the bar stool and led me out of the bar. It was about 9 a.m. now and the sun was really bright. I put my arm in front of my eyes to block it, almost falling over due to all of the wine I had ingested.

"You need to lighten up on drinking." Saito said as he caught me.

"This is coming from the man who would drink three galleons of sake in a day?" I countered, bracing myself against him.

I heard him chuckle before I felt him pull me through the crowded streets. Slowly, we made our way out of the crowded city streets into the outskirts. Soon I realized that we were on the doorstep of my home. Saito led me inside before sitting me on one of the mats.

"How did you know where I live?" I asked him, teasingly. "Have you been stalking me?"

"I notice some things." He replied as he sat down. "Especially when Michi Takihashi's little sister, Izumi Takihashi moves into an old rebel base."

"Not very discreet, am I?"

"No, but that's alright. I still love you."

I smiled and he leaned toward me. Our lips brushed for what seemed like a moment. It seemed so natural. We pulled apart and I smiled, looking down at the floor. He gently made me look at him.

"I love you Izumi." He whispered before leaning in toward me.

Suddenly, the door opened and both Ohkami and Sano stumbled in. Ohkami started weaving and Sano fell in the doorway. Miraculously, Ohkami actually made it to my futon before collapsing and entering a drunken sleep.

Sighing, I stood up and made my way over to Sano.

"Can you help me take him to the back room?" I looked at Saito.

He sighed before helping me drag Sano into one of the back rooms. Then Ohkami started to make weird gargling noises from my room. I shook my head and grabbed Saito's sleeve. Slowly, I led him to a spare bedroom. As I closed the door, I saw him grin.

"Now we're alone." He said, pulling me closer to him.

"Yes and-"

I was cut off as a something shook my house. Once outside I saw a dragon taking off from my yard. It seemed to be hell bent on destroying my house because it shot a stream of fire at my house. As fast as I could, I ran toward the woods.

"WHO THE HELL WOKE ME UP?" Ohkami's voice rang through the clearing.

"Someone's P.M.S.ing." I mumbled as I got behind a tree.

Ohkami looked really, really pissed. She held her hand up at the dragon and whispered some sort of incantation. A black beam of light shot out of her hand. The dragon barely got out of the way. It came to land in front of her. Something slid down its side and landed next to the dragon.

I came out of the woods, heading toward the others. Then I noticed that the figure had dropped to his knees, as if saluting Ohkami. He was mumbling some sort of apology as I approached. Suddenly, the dragon turned to me and looked as if it was going to kill me.

"Who are you to approach the Princes without kneeling?" The man growled, glaring at me with a gaze that would have set fire to the woods behind me.

"PRINCESS?" Both Ohkami and I gasped, shocked.

"Yes m' lady." The dragon said.

"Am I drunk?" Ohkami asked me. "Or did that dragon just talk?"

"I must be drunk too because I heard it too." I replied, looking at it.

"We are representatives from the Demon World." The man told us, standing up. "We have come to find Princess Inari Kaida Kana Rini, known in this world as Ohkami."

"Okay I'm not a princess." Ohkami protested, slowly backing away from them. "I'm just a normal demon."

"You are not. I, Lord Toshi, was there when you were born and when you were crowned Princess, Heir to the throne of Demon World. You and your parents disappeared years ago. It is rumored that they died of a human disease, meebles or weasels or something like that."

"That's bull shit." Ohkami said. "I'm still drunk and this is all a dream. Good bye and have a good life."

With that, she turned toward my house and started walking. Lord Toshi looked at me desperately.

"Is there no way that she can be convinced?" He seemed to be begging me.

"When hell freezes over." I gave him a sweet smile before following Ohkami back to my house.

"Are you alright?" Saito hugged me when we got in. "I thought something had happened to you."

"Why didn't you come out?" Ohkami looked at him curiously.

"I couldn't, something was preventing me from going out the door."

"That's strange," I remarked. "Ohkami, you got out without any trouble, didn't you?"

"Yup. That is weird."

Just then, a strange voice seemed to fill the house. It was the man from the bar.

"Hell will consume the Earth if the Princess does not stop the demons from taking over."

"What the hell?" Ohkami looked around. "Am I still drunk?"

"You must go my Princess, the fate of all living beings rest on you."

With that the voice faded out. Ohkami sighed and then looked at me.

"What the hell, let's go. There's nothing better to do anyway."

"Adventures with you are always fun Ohkami. Let's do it."

A/N: Kind of short but it starts off a new thing. This storyline is not taken from the RP, though characters from it may appear. As to Ohkami's real name, I thought it would be funny to see that apply to her. The real meaning is: Inari: successful one; Kaida: Little dragon; Kana: Powerful; Rini: Little Bunny. Hope everyone enjoys!


	6. Old Foes, New Demons

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, I, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you to FairyMage and ohkamimajin for reviewing! Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores! A double line means flash back. Single line means scene change.

Sighing, I closed the door of my house and then turned to face the others. Ohkami was leaning against the side of my house with a bag over her shoulder, gulping down a beer that she had just found. Sano was still recovering from his hang over and could barely stand up straight. Saito was staring at the woods, not bothering to turn when I tapped him on the arm.

"Saito…" I said, trying desperately to get him to look at me.

"Go Izumi." He kept his eyes on the forest. "I have business here anyway.""I'll see you when we get back then." I held back tears and followed Ohkami as she led us toward the forest.

For the longest time, neither Ohkami nor I spoke. Sano, on the other hand, wouldn't stop flirting with Ohkami. It seemed as if he was intent on getting her into bed with him. Several time I wanted to beat him with the nearest stick to get him to be quiet.

Eventually, we came to a clearing. In the center, was the demon and the dragon we had met had earlier. They seemed impatient and a look of relief came over Lord Toshi's face when he saw us. He hurried over to us.

"Thank Inari you are here Princess." He smiled at Ohkami. "I just don't know why you insist on bringing humans with you."

"Wherever I go, Izumi goes." Ohkami pulled me to her side. "Besides, she's the sane one."

"And the human male?"

"Come here." She motioned for him to come closer to her and whispered in his ear.

"Crude." Lord Toshi sighed as he looked back at the dragon. "Very well, let us go."

Suddenly, a huge black portal appeared before us. It emitted a huge amount of energy and all of a sudden, started to suck us in. Everything around us started to move toward it. I felt something hit me on the back of the head hard. My entire world started to get blurry before everything went black.

* * *

"We should eat them." A cruel voice penetrated the darkness around me.

"Yes, we never get fresh human meet anymore." Another voice said.

"Boys," A sickeningly familiar voice interrupted them. "Eat your fill, as long as the "princess" doesn't find out."

"Go away!" I yelled as I sat upright.

The world around me was fuzzy for a moment before it became clear. Neko stood in front of me, two robed figures behind her. A devilish smile came over Neko's face. I could see a predatory look in her eyes.

"It seems as if our meal has awakened." Her voice was dripping with venom.

"Duchess Neko!" Lord Toshi's voice pierced the air as he came through a door on the other side of the room. "You are not to eat the humans. They are guests of the Princess."

"Yeah, what he said." I could hear Ohkami in the hall. "You touch them and I'll kick your ass."

"Come and get me first!" Neko yelled, cackling evilly.

Then, in the doorway, Ohkami appeared in all of her glory. I tried to hold back my laughter. Ohkami was dressed in a pink ball gown. The dress went all the way to her ankles and was trimmed in lace. Around the lace on the color were bright pink roses and in her hair was a crown of pink roses.

"Don't you dare." Ohkami glared at me, threateningly.

"Ohkami, giggle, what happened, giggle, you look like a girl." I snickered.

"Shut up." She growled.

I could hear giggling behind me. It sounded like Sano. Ohkami looked like she was going to kill him. Quickly, I got between her and him.

"Relax Ohkami." I smiled.

"How the hell am I supposed to relax in this, this, thing?"

"I think it looks good on you." Neko taunted. "Would you like some tea with that my Princess?"

Ohkami growled and tried to pounce. I tried my best to hold onto her.

"Princess." Toshi's voice interrupted Ohkami. "You need to get ready."

"'Bout damn time that I get to fight." Ohkami muttered as she relented and started up the stairs.

"Heavens no, you're not going to fight." Ohkami stopped mid step. "You are going to the ball."

* * *

During the beginning of the ball I stood near the entrance, waiting for Ohkami to make her appearance. Some servants had supplied me with a long, green dress. It was plain, nothing like Ohkami's.

Sighing, I scanned the crowd, trying to find out if I'd missed Ohkami. Then I saw some sort of commotion in the middle of the room. There was a head of brown hair and a pink dress there and I took an educated guess who it was. I made my way over there quickly. When I broke through the crowd, a strange sight met my eyes.

Ohkami and Sano were having a drinking contest. The punch bowl sat between them, half full. It seemed as if it was Ohkami's turn and in one swig, she finished off the punch.

"Hic, I, hic, win." Ohkami smiled at Sano.

"Then, hic, I guess, hic," Sano started, leaning closer to her. "It's time for that, hic, kiss."

Suddenly, something came crashing down in the room. I hit the floor kept my head down as glass rained everywhere. An evil laughter filled the room and I looked up. Standing on a dragon, was a figure in a black cloak.

"It is good to see that you are alive Princess!" The creature yelled at Ohkami.

"Go, hic, to, hic, hell!" Ohkami yelled back, saluting the guy before kissing Sano.

"The Princess has grown attached to a human? This is going to be interesting. We will meet again, Rini."

Just as suddenly as he had entered, the guy disappeared. Everyone was in shock, well, everyone except Ohkami and Sano who were still kissing. I ignored them and looked back up at the place where the guy had been.

_Who the hell was that? And what did he want?_ I thought as everyone started to collect their wits and leave me to my thoughts.

A/N: I know this is short, but I wanted to finish it before I went to bed. "Ohkami is a wolf demon. She's got black n' silver hair, gray wolf ears and tail, and an ankh (that's the Egyptian cross-looking symbol of life) on her back." Thank you Ohkami for the description. Michi Takihashi was Izumi's alias (Chapter 3). Kenshin and the gang will hopefully be in this again soon…. Souzou….hmm… I like the idea of him coming back… Anyway, thank Ohkami for making me get this out. Hope everyone likes!

P.S.-Saito and Izumi will get their little romantic moment, eventually…


	7. Alive?

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, I, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you to FairyMage and ohkamimajin for reviewing! Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores! A double line means flash back. Single line means scene change.

Slowly, I gazed at the ballroom. Everyone was gone, that is, with the exception of the two drunks that were passed out on the floor, and Neko. She smirked at me and sauntered over to where I was standing.

"So how is your first trip to demon world?" She sneered, folding her arms and surveying the room.

"What do you want?" I growled.

"To get you damn humans out, but besides that, find out who that guy is."

"Wow, I didn't know you were that deep."

"Shut up." Neko pinned me up against the wall behind us. "I am a full blooded demon; I could kill you in an instant. Don't tempt me."

"Like hell." I gasped, trying to breathe.

"Really?" She dropped me. "What could you do against a demon like me?"

"BEER!" Ohkami's voice interrupted us.

We both looked over to see Ohkami doing some sort of drunk dance in the middle of the hall. She kept tripping over Sano who was still passed out on the floor drunk. Then Ohkami saw us and started skipping over.

"The mighty Princess of Demons approaches." Neko sneered.

"Hey," Ohkami was starting to come out of her drunken stupor. "How come she gets to wear a cool dress?"

For the first time I realized what Neko was wearing. It was a floor length, black silk gown with a slit up to her waist on both sides. The dress was trimmed with red roses and she had a black one in her hair.

"Because I am a member of the higher court." Neko smirked. "Princesses have to wear pink."

Ohkami growled low in her throat. It looked as if she was going to pounce on Neko.

Suddenly, a piece of paper floated down from the ceiling and landed on Sano's head. He stirred and picked the piece up. Then he looked at us; a look of pure terror in his eyes.

"What does it say?" I hurried over to him.

"Look." He handed it to me.

"Many secrets await you." I read. "Be quick about it though, for those you hold close to your hearts won't live much longer. Secrets will be unveiled and you will have to choose. The Princess will have her problems; as will the Kitsune Majin."

"Who sent it?" Ohkami looked at me with a dark look on her face.

"It doesn't say." I replied. "We better move quickly."

"Why go after those so called friends?" Neko asked as Sano, Ohkami and I were heading toward the door. "If they're your friends, they should be strong enough to get out of whatever they're in."

None of us responded; we just kept walking. Once we reached the door, Ohkami turned and saluted Neko before we headed to find our friends.

* * *

"Where do you think you are going?" The demon from last night's voice surrounded the three of us as we stood in a clearing in the woods.

Ohkami had insisted that she sort of remembered the land, and we had of course followed her. We'd gotten lost about an hour ago and none of us had known where we were. At least the voice gave us some clue, though not much.

"What do you want?" Ohkami yelled into the air.

"Many things Princess, including your nice ass."

"Bite me!" Ohkami growled menacingly.

"I would love to."

"What the hell do you want?" Sano put his arm protectively around Ohkami.

"The Orb of Death, and you Princess, are going to find it for me."

"Not likely ass hole."

"Well then maybe the Kitsune Majin can convince you for me."

"Hell no."

"Really?" The voice came from behind us.

I turned to see the same cloaked figure from last night. This time, however, the hood was down and I could see his face. He reminded me some what of the old man from the bar. A toothy smile crossed his face and his beady little black eyes seemed to glisten when he saw me.

"I believe that I have something you would kill for." He snapped his fingers.

"What the hell?" My jaw dropped.

Out of no where Saito, Kenshin and a group of people I'd never seen before appeared. They all seemed to be tied up. As I tried to move toward them, the man stood between us.

"Your friends are my guests." He smiled. "If you wish to get them back, though, you can convince the Princess here to find me the Orb of Death."

"Really?" I smiled devilishly. "And why should I do that when I could just defeat you?"

With that, I pulled my sword and went at him. He dodged, but barely. A gleam in his eyes told me he was enjoying this. Gritting my teeth, I landed and turned before lunging.

"Excellent." He laughed. "Excellent. You are truly the student of Souzou Sagara."

"What?" I stopped mid lunge. "What did you just say?"

"He's still alive you know." The man smiled.

"Liar." I whispered, lunging again.

This time, as my sword was thrust into him, he became a cloud of smoke. Laughter filled the clearing and I glared at the place where he had been.

"This is going to be very, very amusing Kitsune Majin. We will meet again soon."

I headed over to the others, who had already untied Kenshin, Saito and the group on the ground. Saito tried to get me to look at him, but I wouldn't. There was a strange sort of silence for a few moments.

"So…" Ohkami decided to break the silence. "I guess we should head back."

"Where are we?" One of the people asked.

I turned to look at them. There were two women and a young boy; I recognized one of the women, Megumi, as the one who had cared for me when I'd been injured fighting Saito not long ago. The other two looked like swordsmen.

"I don't know." The young boy mused. "Hey Sano, what are you doing here? And who is your girlfriend?"

"Be quiet Yahiko." Sano nearly took the kid's head off.

"Sano's got a girlfriend." The girl taunted.

"Kaoru." Sano growled.

"So these are your human friends." Neko's voice came from behind us. "This is going to be very amusing."

"We're kind of busy right now." Ohkami bared her teeth at the cat demon.

"You aren't." Neko climbed out of a tree. "But it seems as if the Kitsune Majin is. What is it, afraid of your emotions?"

"Go away." I growled; storming off toward where I thought the castle was.

Tears threatened to fall as I ran through the woods. I came upon a waterfall and stopped. Sighing, I popped down on the bank and let my feet soak in the water. Then, I heard footsteps behind me. Two arms encircled me and I relaxed.

"It's going to be okay Izumi." I heard Kenshin whisper in my ear.

"Damn it Kenshin." A few tears escaped as I buried my face in his chest. "What am I going to do?"

"Shh. It's alright. We don't even know if he really is alive."

"He is. I know he is. Back then, something didn't add up. He left me a letter; it said that he would come for me, and never to forget him. I didn't think anything of it then, but now…"

"Let's go now."

* * *

Somehow we managed to find our way back to the castle. Everyone else was waiting for us. The cooks had prepared food for us but I wasn't hungry so I went out into one of the gardens. Kenshin and Ohkami had followed me and we sat quietly for a few moments there.

"So…" it was Ohkami who broke the silence. "Do you really think that guy in the woods was telling the truth?"  
"I know he was." I said, miserably.

"But then what about that whole ghost incident not long ago?"

"Magic probably. You know, I really don't care. I wish we'd never come."

"It's going to be alright." Kenshin put his hand on my shoulder.

"Well." I sighed, "I'm done being the center of attention. Why don't we figure out what this Orb of Death is and why that guy wants Ohkami to go after it."

"The Orb of Death is an object that can bring the entire human race to its knees." A voice from behind us said. "It is so powerful that its creators made it so that only the heir to the demon throne may use it. That person is Princess Rini."

"Souzou?" I whispered, looking toward the voice.

"Hello Izumi." Souzou leaned against one of the archways surrounding the garden. "It's good to see you again."

He started walking toward us.

"It's good to see you again Kenshin." He bowed his head to Kenshin and bowed to Ohkami. "It is good to see that you are still alive Princess."

"Impossible." I didn't even recognize my own voice.

"No it isn't." He knelt down and took my hands in his. "I said I'd come back for you, and I have. We'll never be apart again. I promise."

A/N: This is a really sweet ending. I just had to bring Souzou back, I mean, what kind of story would it be without him? Anyway, in the next few chapters there will be a few romantic moments: Sano x Ohkami, Izumi x Souzou, Izumi x Saito, and maybe a Kenshin x Kaoru. Hope everyone likes!


	8. Love and True Love

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, I, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you to FairyMage and ohkamimajin for reviewing! All reviews are responded to on my xanga account. Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores! A double line means flash back. Single line means scene change.

I looked down into Souzou's eyes. My heart was beating wildly and I didn't know what to do. A lump was in my throat and I couldn't speak.

"I…" My voice gave out.

"Souzou." Kenshin moved in between us.

"Yes?" Souzou looked a little annoyed about being interrupted.

"Ten years is a long time."

"Kenshin." I whispered. "Thank you, but I need to alone with Souzou."

"Alright." He patted my shoulder before dragging Ohkami out of the garden.

"So now we're alone." Souzou smiled and pulled me to stand.

"Souzou." I couldn't look in his eyes.

"What is it?" He gently lifted my chin so I was looking in his eyes.

"Ten years is a very long time. Why didn't you come find me? Why wait so long?"

"I couldn't come forward, everyone thought I was dead. I had to wait until the ruckus following the defeat of the Sekiho was over. Everyone didn't need to know I was still alive."

"Damn it Souzou." Tears were starting to form in my eyes. "You should have told me."

"What?"

"You were dead, I moved on."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry Souzou. You were dead for ten years, I found someone else a couple weeks ago."

"I see." There was hurt in his voice. "Well, who is the lucky guy?"

"Izumi!" Saito's voice echoed through the garden.

My heart stopped. I saw him come running through the garden towards us. Souzou stepped in front of me, his hand of the hilt of his sword.

"What are you doing here?" He growled at Saito.

"Are you alright Izumi?" Saito asked me, putting his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Souzou, Hajime." I stepped in between them. "Please don't do this."

"You mean?" Souzou looked furious.

"Come Izumi." Saito tried to get between us.

Suddenly, Souzou drew his sword. The two of them began fighting, and I had to jump back in order to not get hit.

"Stop! Please!" I yelled, trying to make them stop.

Suddenly, there was a flash of silver and both Saito and Souzou were standing back, breathing heavily and clutching their sides. Kenshin stood between them, sword drawn. Slowly, he stood up and put his blade back in its sabot. He glared at both of them before moving toward me.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly.

"Fine." I whispered, brushing back tears.

"Get out of here." He pushed me toward where Ohkami stood.

I felt Ohkami put her arm around my shoulder and she led me to a room on the other side of the palace. Once I'd gotten inside I sat on a bed and smiled at Ohkami.

"You should really go." I said. "That whole Orb of Death thing is going to get complicated. You need to find out as much about it as you can."

"You need me here." Ohkami protested.

"Go, I'll be fine." I faked a smile.

"Alright." Ohkami seemed uncertain. "Just call if you need me."

"I will."

As soon as Ohkami closed the door, tears started to stream down my face. I flopped down on the bed and let them fall. The door opened again, but I didn't bother looking. The person sat down on the bed next to me. Glancing over I saw it was Kenshin.

"It's alright Izumi." He pulled me to him.

I silently cried into his chest for a while. Finally, I composed myself enough to look at him. A small smile came over his face as he wiped a tear from my face.

"This is getting even more complicated isn't it?" I nodded in agreement. "You're just going to have to tell Souzou that you're in love with Saito."

"That's not the problem." I looked toward the door. "I'm still in love with Souzou. And I'm in love with Hajime. Damn it, I never should have come here."

"I hate to say it, but this is probably a good thing."

"What the hell are you talking about Kenshin?"

"You never got to tell Souzou how you really felt before he was _killed_ did you? Maybe this is the time."

"How can I do that? I mean; I love Hajime too."

"Since when did you start to call Saito by his first name?"

"Kenshin, please."

"Take a walk in the gardens, it'll help you think."

"Thank you."

* * *

The sun was setting as I walked among the flowers in the garden. Everything around me looked beautiful, as if it had all been pulled out of one of the paintings I'd seen in the Kyoto shops. Somehow, I found my way to what looked like a beach. As I stood on a cliff overlooking the surf, I heard Ohkami's voice. Looking down, I saw her and Sano in an embrace.

A small smile came over my face. _Ah, true love. How cute._

"I love you." Ohkami's voice was carried to me on the wind.

"I love you too." Sano's voice followed her.

The two love birds pulled from their hug to look in each other's eyes. A pang of longing surfaced in my stomach. Then, Ohkami and Sano slowly leaned toward each other and kissed.

"True love's kiss is a powerful thing, isn't it Izumi?" Souzou said from behind me.

"What are you doing here?" My voice was filled with uncertainty.

"Am I not allowed to watch the sunset?" He stood next to me.

"Don't play games with me."

"I never would Izumi. I love you."

"Ten years Souzou, ten years."

"Time doesn't matter here."

"It does to me. You were dead. Why couldn't you have contacted me?"

"It was too dangerous."

"There are hundreds of ways to send messages Souzou, you know that."

"Izumi." I could hear frustration in his voice.

"Bite me." I growled, turning and heading toward the castle.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. I pushed against his chest, trying to get away, but he held me tight. Suddenly, he kissed me. Everything around me seemed to disappear and I couldn't' believe what was happening.

I hadn't been kissed like that in a long time; I felt like I was walking on air. We had to part finally because both of us were running out of air. A sense of guilt washed over me and I turned my head to look at the ocean. Souzou put his hand under my chin and moved it so I was looking at him.

"I love you Izumi." He whispered before kissing me again.

Suddenly, he broke the kiss off and walked away, leaving me there on the cliff. Slowly, I brought my hand up to my lips, trying to make sure that it wasn't a dream; that the kiss had really happened. It hadn't seemed real, like I was kissing him in a dream, and that he wasn't really alive, just in my imagination.

I stared at him as he made his way back into the castle. One part of me just wanted to run up and hold him. Another part told me to run up to him and pummel him with a rock for betraying me like that. A sigh of exasperation escaped my lips.

"Awe, poor human." Neko's sadistic voice came from behind me.

"What the hell do you want?" I growled, turning to face her.

"I want nothing." She grinned evilly and started to walk around me, as if trying to figure out what part of her prey she should eat first.

"Then why the hell were you spying on me?"

"It is not illegal to eavesdrop. Besides, why would I allow the greatest hunter of them all to fall in love with a pathetic human girl?"

"Hunter?"

"Didn't you know? Or did the Souzou the Great forget to tell you about his past?"

"Bite me." I realized I didn't know nearly as much about Souzou than he knew about me and I was a little hesitant, Neko saw it and took her chance to strike.

"That's right, you were just a poor little girl that he took in. You have nothing."

"Like hell I don't."

"He knows everything about you, and you know nothing of him."

"Liar."

"Oh really? Tell me, what do you know of your boyfriend Souzou Sagara?"

"Well, I…"

"Just as I thought. You were too busy with your 'training' to be concerned with him."

"Why do you care so much you bitch?"

"Because it is always fun to torture humans."

"You know what, burn in hell!" I screamed at her before I ran toward the castle.

Tears blinded me and I didn't know where I was going. Then again, I really didn't care, as long as I was away from that bitch Neko. Eventually I found myself in what looked like an abandoned room somewhere in the castle. I let the tears fall as I curled up in a corner.

Then, I felt a pair of arms embrace me and pick me up. Whoever it was carried me to my room and laid me on the bed. They pulled me to their chest and I cried into it. Slowly, I began to realize who it was.

"Jime?" I whispered, looking up through the tears.

"Shh Izumi." He gently brushed away my tears. "It's alright."

"But." My voice was hoarse. "You shouldn't be here."

"Why not?" He pulled me closer to him.

"Because I…"

"Because what? I know you love Sagara and as much as I hate what he's done to you, I love you enough to let you go."

"But I thought-"

"Don't think Izumi. A wise man once said 'We would often be sorry if our wishes were gratified.' If my wish to have you was granted, then you would spend the rest of your life thinking about that man, you would never truly be mine. All I want now is for you to be happy."

"Thank you." I whispered into his chest.

Suddenly, there was a ruckus outside of my room. Both Hajime and I looked up as the doors to my room burst open. Ohkami ran in followed by Kenshin. They both looked very upset.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"That creep from last night is back." Ohkami panted. "He's pulling shit everywhere."

"We need to go." Kenshin looked around. "He could be anywhere."

"What are you so worried about?" I got up from the bed. "We can handle whoever it is."

"He's here for you Izumi." Ohkami's voice was grave.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know, let's just get you out of here." Kenshin pulled me from the bed.

"Izumi, thank Kami!" Souzou ran into the room and hugged me tight. "I thought he had gotten you."

"Who?" I pushed him back.

"Why Lord Kuri." He replied as if it was the most obvious thing.

"Well, let's just go see this Lord Kuri." I headed toward the door.

"You can't." Several people said at once.

"What has gotten into all of you?" I kept walking to the door. "What are you worried about?"

"You're not well." Ohkami said, moving toward me. "You must get back to bed old friend and let the men take care of this. We don't need to be fighting."

"Back off." I growled, drawing my sword. "Who the hell are you and what have you done to my friends?"

"What are you talking about Kitsune?" Kenshin asked innocently, taking a step toward me.

"First of all idiots." I pointed my sword at Kenshin's throat. "Kenshin never called me Kitsune. Second Ohkami never called me old friend. And third, Ohkami thrives on fights.""Very clever little one." An evil voice echoed through the room. "You have seen through my masquerade."

"Look buddy. I'm not in a good mood today. Why don't you just show yourself so I can kick your ass?"

"I think not young one. However, I will release your friends, for now. You, on the other hand, I'm far more interested in."

A chill ran down my spine. Suddenly, I felt something lift me up and throw me to the other side of the room. I hit the wall with a thud and fell into a bunch of pots. There was a crash and pain radiated through my whole back. Everything slowly became fuzzy and eventually went black.

A/N: I've been working on this for a while and decided to get it out. Hope everyone likes.


	9. Dying Love

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, I, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you to FairyMage and ohkamimajin for reviewing! Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores! A double line means flash back. Broken line means scene change.

Warning: Major Character(s) death. (Fan girls sob.)

Slowly, the darkness that had surrounded me seemed to retreat. I felt some sort of light on my face. When my vision finally cleared, I could tell that I was in some sort of dungeon.

As I tried to sit up, I felt something holding my arms back. Lifting my head I realized something. _What the hell? I'm in a torture chamber? How can this be?_ Suddenly, a strange laugh interrupted my thoughts.

"Silly little girl." The voice seemed to be coming from all around me. "You have interrupted the order of the demon world and for that, you must be punished."

"What the hell?" I struggled against the bonds holding me down.

Just then, a figure emerged in front of me. I recognized it as the figure that had crashed the party the other night. Now I could tell, despite the cloak, that it was a man. As he came into the light I could distinguish his features, which included a pair of fox like ears.

"Who the hell are you?" I growled, inching away from him.

"Why should I tell that to someone who is about to die?" He sneered, moving his face closer to mine. "Then again, I don't see how it could hurt. I am Yuma, son of Lord Kuri."

"Lord who?"

"Insolent wench." He slapped me. "Do not pretend that you do not know the name of the most powerful demon in existence."

"If he's so powerful why doesn't he rule demon world?"

"Oh he will, and the human world as well. Once we get the Orb of Death no one will be able to stop us."

"Don't you mean him?"

"I said him."

"You said us."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"Stop it." He shrank away a little. "You're hurting my head."

"Yuma!" A man's voice echoed through the room.

"My lord." Yuma dropped to his knees.

"I thought I told you not to harass the prisoner."

"But, my lord-"

"Silence."

With that, Yuma flinched and I got my first look at this Lord Kuri. He wasn't much taller than Souzou and he had some sort of iron will look to him. For some strange reason he reminded me of Zeus, from the western mythology.

"I see you are awake Kitsune Majin." His voice was like ice as he approached me.

"No, I'm still asleep."

"You'd best to watch your tongue."

"No thanks."

"It seems that humans don't know when to shut up." He growled as he slapped me.

"No, it's just that I don't." I retaliated, ignoring the slap.

"Well, let's just see about that." He grabbed a fistful of my hair. "Now, you are going to help us get the Orb of Death."

"Go to hell." My voice was strained, and he pulled my hair tighter.

"You must convince the Princess to give me the Orb of Death. Otherwise, I will kill you."

"My life isn't worth the lives of the human population."

"What about demons?" Yuma asked, butting in.

"I believe that you all can take care of yourselves, or are you as weak as humans?"

"Silence!" Lord Kuri bellowed. "I will destroy Kyoto if you do not help me."

"Bullshit."

Suddenly, everything around me started to get darker. Lord Kuri's face was over mine, laughing. Eventually, everything went black.

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"Izumi! Izumi!" Ohkami's voice broke through the darkness.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and blinked. I was in some sort of forest, lying at the base of a tree. With a great deal of effort, I managed to sit up, for some reason, feeling drained. Leaning against the tree, I relaxed for a moment. Then Ohkami came into view, followed by Kenshin and Sano.

"Izumi!" Ohkami ran to me. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know." I replied as she knelt down beside me. "What happened?"

"We were hoping that you could tell us." Kenshin said as both he and Sano reached us.

"The last thing I remember is some Lord Kuri laughing and trying to make me get the Orb of Death for him."

"Then he let you go?" Ohkami sounded confused. "Didn't he like threaten you or something because if he didn't then he's a horrible villain."

"He said that he would destroy Kyoto."

"We need to find him then." Kenshin's voice was serious.

"He won't be getting far." I used the tree to help me stand up. "His son, Yuma I think, is helping him."

"What does that matter?" Ohkami helped me as I started to sway.

"Yuma is an idiot. Besides, we should probably find the Orb of Death first."

"You're probably right." Sano supplied. "But where is it?"

"Why do humans ask such stupid questions?" A familiar voice came from the tree above us.

"What are you doing here Neko?" Ohkami growled, stepping in front of me a little.

"This isn't your forest Princess." Neko jumped down from the tree and landed in front of me. "Besides, I wanted to see the Kitsune Majin when she awoke."

"You knew I was here?" I questioned. "How?"

"It's not very difficult to find a passed out human in a forest of demons." Neko started to circle Sano. "Like it isn't hard to find a willing human mate."

"Huh?" Sano looked stupefied.

"What do you say human?" Neko touched Sano's face. "Would you like to share a bed with me?"

"Stay away from him." In a blink of an eye, Ohkami was between Sano and Neko, her claws raised.

"Fine, I bet he wouldn't last long anyway." Neko said dismissively.

"Get out of here." Ohkami's voice was a low growl.

"I don't take orders from anyone, especially if they are named after a rabbit."

"Huh?"

"Rini means bunny rabbit, you idiot." Neko sighed. "Anyway, I need to go see my lover, he's probably wondering where I am."

All of us watched as Neko disappeared out the clearing. Suddenly Ohkami started bouncing up and down.

"Ohkami," I slowly backed away from her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm a bunny rabbit." She smiled and kept bouncing.

"Okay Ohkami." I sighed. "Let's get going; we need to find the Orb of Death."

"Okay." Ohkami said cheerfully and bounced behind us as we walked back to the castle.

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"So what are we looking for?" Sano asked as we stared at a map that Ohkami had randomly pulled off a shelf in the castle's library.

"I'm just as confused as you are Sano." Kenshin scratched his head.

"And we're trusting Ohkami why?" I looked at the other two questioningly.

"Because you love me, Izumi." Ohkami smiled and put her arm around me.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

"What if we're looking at this wrong?" I said as I pulled out another map.

"What do you mean?" Sano looked at me curiously.

"What if this Orb of Death isn't hidden, what if it is in plain view."

"Your guess is as good as mine." Ohkami sighed. "Since none of us know much about the Orb of Death anyway."

"Maybe we should just ask the captain." Sano suggested.

Ohkami, Kenshin and I were all quiet. Then, I heard laughing in the hall. Into the room came Neko and Souzou, arm in arm. Neko was smiling but Souzou looked like he just wanted to get away from her. When he spotted me, a smile lit up his face. Unfortunately, Neko didn't look as happy.

"It is good to see you Captain." Sano smiled and walked over to Souzou. "We were just trying to figure something out and we thought that you'd know the answer."

"Oh really?" Souzou looked at us curiously.

"I don't see how human problems could bother you love." Neko tried to pull him away.

"I am human Neko." He unwrapped her arm from his. "And stop calling me love."

"If it weren't for me, you would have died at the hands of those humans who called you a traitor." Neko spat.

"Get out of my sight."

At that, Neko stormed out of the room. Souzou sighed and then looked at us. I avoided his gaze and I could hear him sigh.

"So, what did you need me for?" He asked.

"We were wondering if you knew where the Orb of Death was." Sano informed him.

"I don't know exactly where it is." He leaned on the table. "But I have an idea."

"Where?" Ohkami sounded excited.

"In a place called Wolves' Point. It's not that far from here, only two days travel."

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Ohkami jumped up. "Let's go."

"Go ahead." I said, looking up. "I'll meet you in a few minutes."

"Are you sure Izumi?" Kenshin stayed behind as Sano and Ohkami bolted toward the door.

"Yeah, go." I smiled a little. "I wouldn't want Ohkami and Sano to go out alone to find an item of total destruction."

"Alright. This one will see you soon then." With that, Kenshin followed the other two.

"I wondered who Neko's lover was." I whispered, mockingly.

"Izumi." He lifted my chin so I was looking in his eyes. "That's only one of her delusions. She thinks that because she helped me escape those men during the slaughter of the Sekihoutai that I owe her and she wants me as her mate. I don't love her Izumi, only you."

"You have an interesting way of showing it."

"Look, we both made mistakes, why don't we just figure a way to get around them."

"Mistakes are things like forgetting a birthday, or taking a wrong turn, not playing dead for ten years."

"Will you ever forgive me?" His voice got quieter.

"This isn't the time. We need to find the Orb of Death." I started walking toward the door.

"Izumi." He grabbed my arm and pulled me into an embrace. "I love you."

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I made my way through one of the halls of the palace. Souzou had gone ahead with the others and I had to find Hajime. At the end of the hall, I came to a balcony. The sun was setting and out of the corner of my eye I saw Hajime. He was standing on the edge of the balcony, looking at the sea.

"Jime." I slowly walked behind him.

"Izumi?" There was uncertainty in his voice as he turned.

We embraced and I relished being in his arms.

"I was so worried." He said as we released each other.

"What do you mean?"

"When you disappeared. The others acted strange as well, and you said something about them not being who they really were."

"You mean Lord Kuri hadn't used mind control on you?"

"Who?"

"Thank you." I buried my face in his chest.

"Izumi." His voice was barely a whisper.

Slowly, we parted again. This time, our faces stayed close. Without thinking, I closed my eyes, and we kissed. It felt amazing, as if I was floating on a cloud. I didn't want it to end, but we were both running out of air. Finally we pulled away.

"We should go after the others." He gently brushed a bang behind my ear.

"Alright."

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The trip to Wolf's Point was a very interesting one. Ohkami and Sano had been acting like teenagers in love, flirting the entire time. Kenshin was Kenshin, quiet and the only one saving us from having to eat Ohkami's horrible cooking. It seemed as if Souzou and Hajime had gotten over their differences, they didn't really seem to dislike each other during the trip.

"Wolf's Point is just over that ridge." Souzou informed us as we hiked up a trail on an extremely tall mountain.

"Good." Ohkami huffed. "I'm sick of climbing stupid mountains. They should have put the Orb of Death in a place that was easier to get to, like a bar."

As we came to the ridge, I had this weird sensation. Something inside me was telling me to run in the opposite direction. I shook my head a little.

"Something wrong Izumi?" I heard Kenshin behind me.

"Something just doesn't feel right." I sighed. "I'm probably worrying about nothing."

Suddenly, I heard a yell from up ahead. It sounded like Ohkami. I broke into a run and I heard Kenshin behind me. As we came to the top of the ridge, I barely stopped before running into a huge crevice. It was so deep I couldn't see the bottom.

"Do you think they fell in?" I asked Kenshin.

"It is very likely." He replied, leaning over a bit to look down.

"Well, then. Let's go."

"What?"

I jumped, pulling Kenshin down with me. We fell for what seemed like ages. Finally, I could see the ground rushing toward us. Out of the corner of my eye I saw what looked like a vine. Instinctively I reached for it and grabbed a hold.

The vine broke my fall and I held on for dear life. I saw Kenshin on another vine next to me doing the same thing. After a few minutes, we started to climb down. Eventually we made it to the ground. Kenshin dusted himself off and glared at me.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"This one thinks you are insane."

"Damn strait."

We made our way through a huge system of halls in this cave. Within a few minutes we had found our way into the center of the maze. Once inside, we ducked into the shadows to observe.

In the center of the room was Lord Kuri with Yuma at his side. Next to them stood Neko, an arrogant smirk on her face. Tied to what looked like a wall in front of them, were Souzou, Hajime, Ohkami, and Sano. Ohkami was spitting and hissing more than I thought were possible.

"What the hell do you want?" She growled, struggling against the chains.

"The Orb of Death." Lord Kuri replied, smiling. "And you are going to retrieve it for me."

"When hell freezes over."

"Oh as soon as I have the Orb, it will. You will help Princess Rini."

"You can't make me."

"Don't tempt me."

"Umm." Yuma interrupted the two of them. "Technically you can't."

"Shut up." Lord Kuri tossed Yuma against a wall. "Now, for my prize."

"Excuse me." Neko stepped in front of him. "Where is my reward? I did bring the Princess here. My half of the bargain is done now complete yours. Give me the money and Souzou Sagara."

"How about not."

Lord Kuri raised his hand and flash of black light shot out of it. It hit Neko square in the chest. She was tossed against the wall and as she fell to the ground, she seemed to stop breathing.

"How could you do that to one of your own people?" Ohkami asked. "Not that I'm complaining, she was a bitch, but still."

"She served her purpose." Lord Kuri took a step toward Ohkami. "And the same fate will befall your friend the Kitsune Majin if you do not comply."

"Ha! Izumi is a fox, she'll evade whatever trap you put out. You can't catch her, it's like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands."

"Really? Then explain why she's here."

Suddenly, Yuma appeared next to me. A devious smile was on his face as he pointed his sword at my throat. He directed me toward where his father was standing.

"Look who I found." Yuma's voice was filled with pride.

"Oh shut up." Lord Kuri's voice was filled with venom. "How good to see you Kitsune Majin. It seems you haven't changed from our last meeting."

"Bite me." I spat.

"What a clever idea, but I have no such plans now. Princess, my offer stands. Either you retrieve the Orb of Death for me, or I kill the Kitsune Majin."

"Don't do it Ohkami." I said without hesitation.

"Oh, so your life is worth more than that of thousands of humans? What if it is the life of the one you love most? Hmm? Or the life of your best friend? Or the kid you practically raised? I'm giving you a choice Princess, either save her or kill her."

"Izumi, I'm sorry." Ohkami sighed.

"No." I whispered.

The chains on Ohkami's wrist suddenly disappeared and she walked toward a huge pedestal on the other side of the room. I had failed to notice it before, probably because it was embedded in the wall. On top sat a green globe.

Ohkami reached for it and a green bit of light reached out and shocked her, but nothing happened. As she picked up the globe, I felt the room become colder. Something evil had just been released and Ohkami didn't look good. Her soul seemed to have just disappeared and just an empty shell remained. She then walked back toward Lord Kuri and handed it to him.

Laughter erupted from him, the most evil laughter I had ever heard.

"Finally, the world is mine." His voice was filled with glee.

"Like hell!" I yelled, trying to get at him.

"Oh Kitsune Majin," he turned to look at me. "You will not be left out, don't worry. I will put you out of your suffering."

"What are you talking about?" My voice was filled with venom.

"You won't have to see who is going to kill you. However, the last thing you will see is your true love's death."

Another black beam of light shot out of his hand and hit Souzou square in the chest. The beam had destroyed the chains and Souzou slumped to the ground. I ran over to him and held him in my arms.

"Izumi." I could barely hear his voice. "I love you."

"I love you too." I whispered as a solitary tear slid down my cheek.

Slowly, my vision became blurry and suddenly, I couldn't see anything. Lord Kuri's laughter erupted from behind me.

"How the mighty have fallen. I'm going to be the one to defeat the legendary Kitsune Majin, what a wonderful thought. And of top of that, it will be your best friend that will do the deed. Princess, kill her."

Suddenly, I felt someone grab my hair and I was pulled away from Souzou's body. A cold blade rested against my neck and I could hear Ohkami's breathing behind me. Every muscle in my body tensed.

"Ohkami, no…"

A/N: Wow this one was long. Yeah I know it is a major cliffie, but I love them. I thought this would be the perfect ending for this chapter. I know I killed Souzou, but Neko died too…. That probably doesn't make a good trade, but I had to do something. Anyway, on a note to FairyMage, thank you for that little info about the xanga, it took me a few days to figure out how to do that, XP, but anyway, the aol site is working out really well. Let me know if you think of it. Thanks.

Kitsune Battousai: (sobs.)

Kitsunemajin: What?

Kitsune Battousai: You killed Souzou!

Kitsunemajin: And Neko!

Kitsune Battousai: But she deserved it. Souzou! You're mean.

Kitsunemajin: I am not.

Kitsune Battousai: Are too.

Kitsunemajin: Am not.

Kitsune Battousai: Listen to yourself. You're having an argument with yourself and losing.

Kitsunemajin: (blinks) Shit. (goes to check herself into a mental institution.)

Kitsune Battousai: (waves) Bye for now!


	10. End of the Nightmare

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, I, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you to FairyMage, Mizamour and ohkamimajin for reviewing! Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores! A double line means flash back. Broken line means scene change.

"Ohkami, no…" I whispered.  
"She can't hear you." Lord Kuri laughed. "She only knows what I tell her."  
"Please Ohkami," tears threatened to fall. "Let go of me. You know who I am, Izumi, your old friend from the bar."  
"I know only Lord Kuri, the Kind of Demon World." Ohkami said in a monotone.  
"Come on kid. How about I buy you a few beers when we get home."  
"No."

"Ohkami." Sano's voice echoed throughout the room. "Let go of her."

"No human will ever order me around." I felt her move away from me. "Now what do you think, human?"

"Let go of him." Lord Kuri bellowed. "You are to kill the Kitsune Majin, not this human scum."

"Don't do it Izumi!" I yelled, trying to find a wall. "We're your friends. Hell, we've known each other for years. I mean we've done a lot of stupid stuff."

"What are you talking about human?" Ohkami growled.

"Well, I remember when you, heh, were drunk and tried to make out with the bartender. He wasn't very happy about that…. And then there was that time when you jumped off the side of a mountain trying to fly…. I'm surprised you've lived this long. I mean, after all of the trouble you've gotten yourself into, us into. Then again, you always got us out alive."

"You helped too." Ohkami's voice was barely a whisper, but it sounded like her. "I got knee deep into shit and you were there to get me out."

"What?" Lord Kuri sounded outraged. "Kill her!"

"No." Ohkami's voice was strong. "I will not kill my best friend. She's always been there for me, even when I did stupid stuff."

"Impossible!" Kuri's voice seemed to shake. "The Orb of Death-"

"Fix Izumi's eyes." Ohkami must have pinned Kuri against a wall because I heard a thud and a yelp.

"Over my dead body." Lord Kuri growled.

"Fine by me."

I could hear the sounds of a battle all around me. It sounded like Ohkami was winning. After a few minutes, I heard this huge explosion and I the ground underneath me shook.

"Bitch."

Lord Kuri's voice slowly faded, just as I became lost in a sea of dreams.

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_"Has she woken up yet?"_

_"No."_

_"I'm worried, the Orb of Death shouldn't have had that much of an effect on her." _

_"I don't think it was just the Orb of Death."_

_"It was. The Orb collects departed souls, it was probably collecting Souzou's and hers was so weak that it…"_

_"Don't say that, she'll be fine, I know it. She's pulled through much worse."_

_"Last time there wasn't a demonic device."_

Slowly, everything around me started getting lighter. I opened my eyes before closing them again, very tightly. It was too bright. Then, the lights went down. Again I opened my eyes, this time, the room was dark.

"I'm so glad you're alright." Hajime's voice came from next to me.

"What happened?" I looked around for him. "Where am I?"

"You're in the Demon Palace." I saw him sitting next to me. "We've all been worried, the Orb of Death tried to take your soul."

"Why?"

"It takes the souls of the dead, that explosion must have really injured you."

"Wait a minute." I paused, reality finally catching up to me. "No. Souzou."

"I'm sorry Izumi."

"Oh Kami." I buried my face in my knees. "I've lost him."

"Shh, it's alright." I felt him pull me into an embrace. "It's alright."

We sat there for what seemed like hours. Hajime kept holding me in his arms, and I didn't want him to let go. Suddenly, the doors of the room burst open and it was flooded with light. I shrank back, the light burning my eyes.

"Izumi!" I recognized Ohkami's voice. "You're alright! We were so worried!"

"I'm glad you're back to normal." I smiled a little, leaning on Hajime.

"Yeah, demonic Ohkami wasn't that hot." Sano teased.

"Very funny." Ohkami smiled, moving toward the bed. "Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"Words cannot describe." I sighed. "Can someone shut that door or something? The light is killing my eyes."

I saw Sano move toward the door and then the light outside was gone. Slowly, I sat up a little and suddenly I was overcome by a wave of dizziness. Someone held my shoulders and made me lay down. Eventually, the room stopped spinning; Hajime and Ohkami were standing over me.

"Are you alright Izumi?" I heard Hajime ask.

"I don't know." I touched my head. "That was strange."

"You should probably rest." Ohkami smiled a little. "We'll leave you alone."

I watched as Ohkami and Sano headed out. Hajime made to stand up but I grabbed his sleeve. There was a questioning look in his eyes.

"Please, stay here with me." I whispered.

"Alright."

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In reality, a week passed from that day, but to me it felt like a year. The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with me. However, Lord Kuri blinding me left permanent damage. Now I can only see out of my right eye.

On the other hand, I learned that Lord Toshi was going to throw another ball. Kenshin and his friends had gone back to the human world so they couldn't attend. Now Ohkami was pacing the halls, complaining about having to wear a pink dress again.

Finally the evening of the ball arrived. The demons had given me a different dress than the plain green one I had worn at the other ball. This one was black and strapless; pink cherry blossoms decorated the fabric. I'd tied my hair back with a long black ribbon.

Ohkami, on the other hand, was not very happy about her dress. It was pink, with a floor length skirt. The top was a spaghetti strap and there were sparkles all on the top. On the skirt, there was what looked like layers, with ribbon edges. Lord Toshi had insisted that she wear a silver tiara with pink gems.

"Are you ready?" Hajime asked.

"As much as I'll ever be." I sighed and took his arm.

We descended a grand staircase. Everyone in the room turned to look at us. I know I tensed a little. Hajime must of felt it because he squeezed my hand and smiled a little. Finally, we reached the floor and started to mingle.

Suddenly, there was a huge commotion in the middle of the room. Hajime and I made our way over, trying to see what was going on. I laughed when I saw.

Ohkami and Sano were having another drinking contest. It appeared as if Ohkami was winning. She held a shot glass in her hand and toasted Sano before chugging it. For a moment, it seemed as if she was going to fall backward, but she stayed standing. Then, she caught sight of me. A huge smile came over her face.

"Hey, hic, Izumi. What, hic, is, hic, up?" She gave me a drunken wave before collapsing on the ground.

"Damn," Sano said. "That, hic, means, hic, I don't get my, hic, kiss."

A second later he joined her on the ground. I smiled as Lord Toshi broke through the crowd.

"This is abominable," He could hardly get his words out. "Who did this?"

"Ohkami did." I could barely contain my laughter. "And unless you find someone else to run your land, you're in deep trouble."

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"So, how pissed was he?" Ohkami questioned as she sat in my kitchen.

"Let's just say that he doesn't want you ruling Demon World quite yet." I laughed, pouring her a cup of tea.

"I thought you were going to give me beer." Ohkami pouted.

"That is like giving a homicidal maniac a knife." I smiled.

"I agree." Sano added.

"That's not going to get you any Sake." I informed him.

"Damn."

"We should probably be getting home." Ohkami finished off her tea. "Sano and I wouldn't want to get in the way of you and your boyfriend."

"You little-"

"What? Aren't you two living together or something?"

"Get out of here Ohkami." I started to push her out the door.

"Why, so you and your _boyfriend_ can be alone?"

"Who's she talking about Izumi?" Sano tilted his head like a dog would.

"Good thing you're cute Sano." Ohkami and I laughed. "Otherwise you would have been out on the streets a long time ago."

"Wait a minute-" I shoved Sano out the door after Ohkami.

"Thank Kami they're gone." I sighed, leaning on the back of the door.

"What's going on Izumi?" Hajime came into the kitchen.

"Ohkami and Sano just left." I sighed, starting to clean up.

"Maybe I should go too."

"No." I grabbed his sleeve.

"You need sleep…"

"I'd feel safer if you were here."

"I'm not going to replace Captain… him."

"I just need someone here, and I trust you. Please, stay."

"Alright."

We made our way over to my futon. He gathered me in his arms and there we fell into a peaceful sleep.

A/N: Yeah, I've really wanted to write but I didn't want to write in one of my other stories so, yeah. Anyway, I hope everyone likes. Eventually I want to do a filler chapter with Izumi telling everyone some of the things Ohkami has done when she was drunk…. I might even make a mini arc out of it…. Anyway, I have an IM conversation between ohkamimajin and I. It shows just how crazy we really are.

**Kitsunemajin: **";-; I don't want Ohkami to be mean! You better update soon, and un-mean Ohkami or else I'm going to hurt you." What was that about?  
**ohkamimajin: **You made Ohkami go evil at the end.  
**ohkamimajin: **or posessed or mind-controlled or something.  
**KITSUNEMAJIN: **so...  
**KITSUNEMAJIN: **It's fun to make Ohkami evil  
**ohkamimajin: **;-;  
**ohkamimajin: **I don't like being evil though/  
**KITSUNEMAJIN: **she's going to turn good in the next chapter, don't worry  
**ohkamimajin: (happy face)**  
**ohkamimajin: (**happy glomp)  
**KITSUNEMAJIN: (**falls off chair and shakes her head) Yeah, I'm ending this little arcy thingy...  
**KITSUNEMAJIN: **maybe Ohkami will get to wear pink again...  
**ohkamimajin:** damn you.  
**ohkamimajin: **You're going to continue the fic after this one right? Right?  
**KITSUNEMAJIN: **i don't know...  
**KITSUNEMAJIN: **(sarcastic)  
**ohkamimajin: **noooooo  
**ohkamimajin: (**clings to fic)  
**KITSUNEMAJIN: **XDD

Kitsune Battousai: (Shakes her head) Yeah, they're kind of crazy. Anyway, bye for now!


	11. Hidden Danger

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, I, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you to FairyMage and ohkamimajin for reviewing! Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores! A double line means flash back. Broken line means scene change.

"What are you afraid of drunk demons or something like that? I'll give you something to be really afraid of if you don't give me another beer RIGHT NOW!" Ohkami screamed at the man behind the bar.

"Ohkami, relax." I sighed.

It had been a couple days since we'd gotten back from demon world and Ohkami was back to her usual self, usual drunken self that is. Somehow, she'd tricked me into coming into the bar and now she was drunk.

Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine. Something was up, and it wasn't good.

"Ohkami, we should get out of here." I whispered.

"Why the hell should I?" She wobbled; I was surprised she didn't fall off her stool.

"Ohkami watch out!"

There was cloud of dust that enveloped the room. I couldn't see anything until it cleared. Once it did, I saw Ohkami sitting on the floor, glaring at a hole in the wall.

"What the hell was that thing?" She growled.

"Looks like a miniature cannon ball." I examined the hole. "Who would want to kill you Ohkami?"

"Me?"

"No, the Easter Bunny. Of course you kid."

"I don't know." Ohkami thought for a minute, which I was surprised about, knowing how drunk she was. "It was YOU, wasn't it? You tried to kill me. Just because I wanted another drink. Stupid…"

Ohkami growled at the bartender, who was now hiding behind the counter. He looked like he was going to wet his pants. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Let's go kid." I smiled. "Whoever did this is liable to do something else, and we can't have the future ruler of demon world dead."

"Okay."

We headed out, Ohkami skipping ahead of me. As we entered a side alley, Ohkami stopped, almost causing me to run into her. Then, the shadows seemed to grow longer.

"Izumi, get back." Ohkami pushed me behind her.

Suddenly, a group of ninjas surrounded us. I drew my sword, waiting for them to attack. Everything happened quickly, I couldn't tell what happened, but in a second, Ohkami was on the ground behind me. As I slashed my sword, I glanced behind me.

"You okay Ohkami?" I asked trying to make sure no one got her.

"Fine other than my leg being in serious pain," she grimaced.

I bit my lip as I blocked a blow. If Ohkami was hurt then we needed to find a hospital. The difficult part would be convincing her to go. Finally, the last of the ninjas retreated and I leaned down to Ohkami.

"We need to get you to a hospital kid." I said, pulling her to her feet.

"NO WAY IZUMI! I'm not going to any stupid hospital so the doctors can do funny experiments on me..."

"Fine." I sighed, "we'll go to one of my friends, he's a doctor. You can trust him."

"Well, if you trust him…"

It seemed like it took us hours to get to the doctor's house. Ohkami couldn't even put weight on her leg. I knew that she was going be ordered bed rest that was like trying to put tell her not to drink.

"So, who is this doctor guy?" Ohkami questioned as we sat in an examining room.

"He's my brother." I smiled. "His name is Haruko. He's like, six years older than I am."

"Izumi, how old are you anyway?"

"Twenty-seven."

"And how old is Saito?"

"Why does it matter Ohkami?"

"Izumi."

"He's thirty-three."

"So, the same age as your brother."

"Yes."

"Hey, you're dating a guy six yeas older than you."

"You're dating one that is two years younger."

"Hello ladies." The door opened and in walked Haruko. "Well, I didn't expect to see you here Izumi."

"Ohkami here has a fear of doctors and hospitals." I sighed. "Pain in the ass sometimes."

"I see you're your usual charming self." Haruko smiled, sitting down in front of Ohkami. "So, how did you manage this?"

"We were fighting ninjas and then one umm…. Umm… What did he do Izumi?"

"I don't know kid, I was fighting someone else."

"Well, either way." Haruko pulled a bottle out of one of the cabinets. "This is going to sting a little."

He poured a little on a gauze pad and then dabbed it on the wound. Ohkami winced as he cleaned the gash. After a few minutes, Haruko wrapped Ohkami's leg with a bandage and sighed.

"You need to stay off of it for a week, and I need to warn you, it's going to hurt like hell."

"Take it easy, as in sit around all day and not do anything? Pfft." Ohkami stood up and yelped, nearly collapsing.

Haruko and I had to grab her so she didn't land on the floor. We lifted her up and placed her back on the table. A sheepish grin came over Ohkami's face.

"Okay, that was a bad idea." She smiled.

"Would you excuse us for a moment?" Haruko asked Ohkami, pulling me toward the door.

"Sure." Ohkami waved as he shut the door.

"What is it Haru?" I questioned.

"First off, is there a place where you can take her?" He motioned toward the room.

"My place, it's really not that far. I doubt anyone will try to get at us there."

"Please don't tell me you've gotten yourself mixed up in any more trouble."

"Not me, Ohkami has a habit of getting into fights."

"Well then, with that said, I heard something about you and a Fujita Goro."

"Yeah, well that's nothing really."

"Oh really, I heard rumors that he was really Saito Hajime."

"Why does it matter Haru?"

"He tried to kill you back in Kyoto, don't you remember? Or are you still missing that Captain of yours and just looking for someone to warm your bed?"

"Knock it off Haru." Tears started to form in my eyes, but I brushed them away. "You jest at scars that have never felt a wound."

"Look," His voice softened a bit. "I don't want you getting hurt. You're my baby sister, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"I've got to go." I sighed and pushed open the door. "Let's get you out of here Ohkami."

"Okay."

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I sighed and grabbed the bags of food off of the counter. I'd taken Ohkami to my house and then offered to go get food. For some reason, I'd gone a little crazy ordering, I really hope Ohkami is hungry.

"Come here often." A familiar voice came from behind me.

"Jime," I smiled and hugged him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, leading me outside.

"Ohkami was hungry." I grinned. "She hurt herself in a fight today and has been ordered to bed rest."

"You should be careful, this neighborhood is dangerous at night."

"What are you talking about, I've lived here for years. Anyway, you know I can take care of myself."

"Just the same, let me walk you home."

"Is there a convict loose or something?"

"No, I just think that you should be careful." He put his arm around my waist and a flinched.

He must have felt it because he pulled away and stayed a few feet from me as we walked back to my house. It saddened me a bit, I couldn't get over Souzou and now Jime was suffering. I loved him, but I still loved Souzou, even though he is dead.

Finally, we made it to my house. I opened the door and turned around to let Jime in, but he wasn't behind me.

"Odd." I muttered to myself, closing the door. "He was just there."

"FOOD!" Ohkami's voice filled the house as I entered the living room.

She tried to get over to me and I laughed, bringing the food over to her. Ohkami began to gorge herself immediately. I smiled, sitting down with my food. Suddenly, there was a tap on the window.

"What could that be?" I stood up and looked out the window.

There was a little creature standing at my window. I opened it and the little thing fell in.

"AW! It's so kyoot!" Ohkami squealed.

"Yes but what is it?" I peered down at it.

"It's a kyoot thing...?"

"Don't call me cute," the little thing hopped on the bed. "I'm Honda, at your service."

"It talks! What a smart um...thing!" Ohkami blinked, still staring at Honda.

"I'm an imp." Honda growled. "A Lord Maplewood sent me to give you a message."

"And who is this Lord Maplewood?" I questioned.

"Some guy who wanted me to deliver a message to you."

"You know, you shouldn't talk to strangers. Wouldn't want something to hadn't to an adorable little "imp" like you..." Ohkami patted Honda on the head.

Honda bared his teeth and tried to take a chunk out of Ohkami's arm. Ohkami swatted him away and looked really pissed.

"DID YOU SEE THAT? IT TRIED TO BITE ME! KILL IT!" Ohkami yelled, trying to get at him.

"Ohkami, personally if you did that to me I would try and bite you too." I sighed. "Anyway, what did this Lord Maplewood want you to tell us?"

"That he wants you dead." Honda started to bounce around the room."

"Did he say anything else?" Ohkami was starting to get annoyed with Honda's bouncing.

"Yeah, that he has two people, a Saizo and some Santo, I think."

"Sano and Saito." Ohkami looked at me.

"What does he want?" I moved closer to the imp.

"For you two to fight him." He stopped bouncing. "He said he wanted to fight the legendary Kitsune Majin, and the wolf demon that tried to over through the government by herself."

"Ok! We can fight this guy. This day has been so boring, this otta be fun." Ohkami stood up, completely forgetting her leg.

She yelped, falling back onto the bed.

"I can walk in a couple of days, right? So we wait a couple of days. Don't worry; the bad guy never actually does anything to the hostages. They just like to make empty threats." She sighed.

"You have until tomorrow." Honda piped in. "Or he'll kill them."

"What?" I gasped. "You know what, we have to do this. Wait here Ohkami, I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going?"

"To get some help."

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"Please Haru, we need your help." I begged.

"Izumi, I'm not a fighter anymore, you know that. Besides, you don't need to be going after him."

"Jime isn't the only one Lord Maplewood is holding hostage. Sano's there too."

"People die Izumi, he's just their time."

"Jime was trying to protect me." I told him.

"What?"

"Earlier, he followed me back from a restaurant. He was acting weird and now I know why. Lord Maplewood must have wanted to capture me but with Jime there, he couldn't. He loves me Haru."

"But do you love him?"

His voice was clear; it hit me then. Did I really love him, or was I just trying to get someone else to comfort me after Souzou died? I didn't know, and I couldn't find an answer.

"I don't know." I whispered.

"You need to find out, and fast." He sighed, moving about his office. "Because I'm not going to help you save someone you don't love."

_Oh Kami, please give me strength to choose. _

"Haru." I said. "I have feelings for Jime, we just have to work things out."

"That's not good enough."

"What the hell do you want me to say?" I couldn't believe he was doing this to me. "Do you want me to say that I love him? Or would that just make you hate him more. Just because you lost someone you loved doesn't mean that you have to stop me from loving. Yes I fell in love with Souzou Sagara and yes he was eleven years older than I was. Now I've fallen in love with a man that used to be my worst enemy. Then, all of a sudden, I find out that Souzou never died and then, just like that, he dies. What the hell am I supposed to do? I can't forget Souzou, but I can't help how I feel about Jime."

"Izumi, I'll help you." Haru turned to face me. "As long as he is more than just something you're using, I'll help you."

"Thank you."

A/N: Yeah, this is kind of a short arc. There will be a Saito/Izumi moment in the next chapter, I promise. Anyway, I hope that everyone likes.


	12. Demon Within

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, I, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you to FairyMage and ohkamimajin for reviewing! Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores! A double line means flash back. Broken line means scene change.

"So why are you helping us anyway?" Ohkami asked Haruko as we headed toward Lord Maplewood's lair.

"It's a long story." Haru sighed, leaning against the back of the carriage.

"We have time." I said, "Lord Maplewood's lair is a few miles away, at least that's what Honda said."

"I hate that little imp." Ohkami growled.

"An imp?" Haru looked at me questioningly.

"Lord Maplewood sent him. Ohkami and he didn't get along particularly well."

"Little bugger tried to bite me."

"I don't blame him, I'd try to bite you too if you patted my head."

"Anyway," Ohkami turned back to Haruko. "Why are you helping us?"

"Izumi convinced me." He smiled. "Besides, I'm not really a fighter. I was a samurai during the revolution, back before the Ikeda-ya affair. At the time, I was in love with a young woman by the name of Oki. We planned to get married once the war was over, but a member of the Shinsengumi killed her during the raid of the Ikeda-ya Affair."

"I'm sorry." Ohkami whispered.

"That's alright." Haruko smiled a bit. "The irony is, she was killed by Okita Soji. When I finally went after him, I found out that he's died of tuberculosis not long afterwards."

"Okita was only doing his job." I whispered. "That was the night we all found out he was sick."

Suddenly, the carriage came to a halt. We all looked out to see a warehouse. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I didn't have a good feeling about this. As we entered the dark place, a voice echoed off the walls.

"Welcome."

"Who the hell are you?" Ohkami yelled. "Are you the one who tried to kill me? Because if you are, I'm going to kick your ass!"  
"Why would I spend my valuable time trying to kill a stupid wolf demon?"

"Oh yeah? Why don't you come say that to my face and see if I don't bite yours off..."

"Ohkami," I growled, trying to pull her behind me. "Not now."

"Listen to your friend, you stupid wolf. Anyway, I don't want to fight you, I want to fight the Kitsune Majin."

"Show yourself!" I yelled, "leader of the 2nd troop of the Shinsengumi, Nagakura."

"I see you remember me," Nagakura stepped out of the shadows.

"Why wouldn't I? You always suspected me of being the Kitsune Majin."

"Yes, the only woman in the Shinsengumi. Tell me, where your fights with the Battousai planned, or did you two just wing it."

"Where are they Nagakura?" I growled.

"They are here."

"Let us see them."

"Only if you defeat me Kitsune Majin."

"Don't play games Nagakura, show them to us."

"Defeat me first."

Suddenly, the ground underneath us started to shake. The lights came up and an arena came out of the floor. Nagakura stood in the center smiling.

"Come, let us finish this." He motioned for me to come at him.

"Izumi don't." Haruko grabbed my sleeve. "It's a trap."

"What?" I looked at him.

"It's a-"

"Shut-up." Nagakura cut him off. "You're running out of time Kitsune Majin, if you delay any longer I just might order one of my henchmen to kill them."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me. Let's see if I can defeat the traitor that even the great Saitou couldn't."

I stepped into the arena, ready for battle. Nagakura smiled, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. Then, he vanished. My eyes scoured the arena before I felt him behind me.

"You really don't think that'll work on me." I smiled, turning and blocking his strike.

All of a sudden, I felt a sharp pain in my side. Glancing down, I saw blood soaking my shirt.

"It seems that you are out of practice." Nagakura laughed, appearing in front of me. "You have yet to scratch me."

"Shut up." I growled, lunging.

He dodged easily, and I found myself staring at the wall. There was a rush of wind behind me and I felt another sharp pain in my shoulder. I could feel the blood flowing freely down my back.

Staggering, I barely stayed on my feet. My eyes scanned the arena, and he stood opposite me. There was the most evil smirk on his face. He walked slowly up to me, as if trying to insult me. Leaning in, he was inches from my face.

The next second, my fist collided with the side of the face. That sent him to the ground. I didn't give him the chance to recover; I put my foot on his chest, digging my heel into his stomach.

"Where are they Nagakura?" I growled, putting some more weight on him.

"Six feet under." He spat.

"Really?" I asked, venom dripping from my voice as I pulled a knife from my pocket and put it to his throat.

"Okay," He gasped, trying to push me off. "They're in the back room."

"Thank you." I kicked him in the ribs and left him gasping for air.

"Izumi." I heard Haru running up behind me.

"Yes brother?" I made my way over to the back room.

"You need to have your injuries treated."

"He's right Izumi." Ohkami piped in. "You don't know where that weirdo's sword has been."

"Not now." I whispered, pulling open a door.

"But Izumi-"

"Not now!" I yelled, glaring at them.

I walked into the back room without waiting for them to follow. Sano and Jime were tied to chairs in the back. In a quick slash of my sword, both were free.

"Are you alright Izumi?" Jime asked me, hugging me.

"I'm fine." I said, not really paying any attention.

Suddenly, everything around me went black.

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Everything around me started getting fuzzy, before becoming clearer. I blinked, trying to get my bearings. Slowly, I realized that I was in my bedroom. Jime was leaning against the far wall, sleeping.

A small smile crossed my face as I sat up. Slowly, I crept out of the room, trying not to wake him up. As I headed to my study, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. The last few days have brought something out of me that I buried long ago.

Sighing, I grabbed one of my folders and a pencil before heading outside. I made my way towards a tree overlooking the back part of my property. Plopping down underneath it, I opened my folder and pulled out a piece of paper.

Lately, I've been really stressed out and my way of coping is to write, mainly poetry. Another reason I write is because it makes me feel like I have some control over my life.

I looked down at the paper; it was a poem I'd been working on for a while, titled "Demons of the Revolution." Now I felt as if I could finish it, I always thought it was lacking something, but now I know what and I began to write furiously.

"What are you doing out here Izumi?" I heard behind me.

"Nothing much Jime." I sighed, looking up as he sat down next to me.

"You should be in bed." He chided gently. "Your brother said it was a miracle that you survived. You lost a lot of blood."

"I'm not surprised. Nagakura was a good fighter."

"What's gotten into you Izumi?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Ohkami and your brother said that you snapped at them, and nearly killed Nagakura. I thought you didn't kill anyone."

"A lot of things."

"Why don't you tell me?"

"It's a long story."

"We have plenty of time, the sun won't rise for quite a few hours."

"Well then," I sighed. "I'm not as much of a saint as everyone thinks. Ohkami, Haru, Sano, they all think that I would rather die than take a life. The thing is, Kitsune Majin doesn't just mean that I was a sneaky fox who infiltrated the Shinsengumi; I was a demon. I killed rebel and Shinsengumi alike it didn't matter to me.

Hell, I was worse than the entire Shinsengumi combined. So many times, I almost went crazy from being alone. You must remember from my early days at the Shinsengumi, I didn't care what happened, as long as I got to kill someone. That…addiction…nearly killed me. The only reason I didn't become a true battousai, a real demon, was because I met Souzou."

"He saved your life." Jime whispered.

"Yes. He did. Well, over the past ten years, I've been able to suppress the urge, but now… Now I can't help it. When I drew that knife on Nagakura and snapped at Ohkami and Haru…" I sighed. "I don't think I can control this anymore. The scary thing is, part of me doesn't want to push it away."

"Izumi." Jime pulled me into an embrace, holding me tight against his chest. "I'll always be here for you."

"I know." I smiled, looking up into his eyes.

"So," He loosened his grip. "What is all of this you have here, stories?"

"Poems. I usually write them when I feel stressed, it's sort of my way to cope."

"It seems there are a lot here, you must be really stressed."

"That would be Ohkami's doing. She's always getting into more trouble."

"I suppose she would drive anyone to drink." He grinned.

Just then, the sun peaked over the trees of the forest. We sat there, just watching it. Eventually, sun was high in the sky, and I heard someone running behind us.

When I turned, I saw Ohkami barreling towards us in her dog form. I laughed as she pounced on me and started licking my face. It took me a few minutes to push her off. She barked before turning back into her usual form.

"You're alive Izumi!" She yelled, gripping me tightly.

"It's good to see you too." I winced.

"Your brother said that you would probably be out for a few days." Ohkami pulled back, smiling.

"You mean that all happened last night?" I asked, startled.

"Yeah, don't you remember?"

"I do, but it seems as if it's been at least a week."

"I hate to break this up." Jime stood up and brushed himself off. "But we should probably get back in the house. Your brother told me that he would kill me if I let you stress yourself."

"Alright." I smiled, turning toward the house.

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I stood over my desk, the folder that contained my poems open. Ohkami and Jime were in the other room, probably discussing something, Ohkami most likely begging for some alcohol. Sighing, I looked through the poems; there was one I just had to find.

It was near the bottom, worn from being looked over so many times. I wrote it not long after the war, when my heart was shattered. The title was "Savior of a Demon." After reading it so many times, I'd memorized it word-for-word. Now, however, I didn't need it. That part of my life was over. Looking at it, I read it one last time.

* * *

_I swear,_

_You must have been heaven sent._

_You were my savior._

_How else could_

_A demon_

_Like me_

_Find love?_

_I am a demon,_

_A traitor._

_I was all alone,_

_Until you came._

_You saved my life,_

_My sanity._

_You were_

_Always there for me._

_And when you needed me,_

_I wasn't there._

_You died,_

_Because of those damn politicians._

_We gave up everything;_

_Our families,_

_Our homes,_

_Our lives,_

_Everything for them._

_Then,_

_They turned around,_

_And killed you._

_Just because_

_They couldn't make good_

_On their promises._

_I'm so sorry,_

_My love._

_You did so much_

_For me,_

_And I couldn't do anything_

_For you._

_Then again,_

_Everything happens for a reason._

_Maybe,_

_You were sent_

_To save me,_

_From the demon_

_I almost became._

_Thank you,_

_My angel_

_My savior_

_My love.

* * *

_

Sighing, I put the paper on the top shelf of my closet, next to my old Shinsengumi robes and my old sword. Now it was a distant memory, a part of my life that was over. I love Hajime now, not Souzou.

"Are you coming Izumi?" Ohkami yelled.

"I'll be there in a second kid." I smiled, closing my closet.

A/N: Just to let everyone know, this is not the end, I have a ton of more ideas, plus there are still a couple things from the rp I haven't done yet. Anyway, now that I'm done with that, I hope everyone likes that poem, I wrote it a couple months ago thinking of Souzou and Izumi's relationship. Well, bye for now.


	13. Killer Past, Cruel Fate

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, I, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you to FairyMage, Imalefty and ohkamimajin for reviewing! Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores! A double line means flash back. Broken line means scene change.

"Can't I have more beer?" Ohkami asked me, her eyes brimming with tears.

It's been a month since Nagakura took Hajime and Sano hostage. Things have slowly returned to normal, well, at least as normal as life with Ohkami could be. She'd convinced me to go to a bar yet again. Sanosuke and Jime had decided to join us.

"No Ohkami." A small smile came over my face. "If you have any more beer you'll be out until next week."

"Oh please Izzy." Ohkami had started swaying.

"Ohkami." I sighed; she only called me Izzy when she was really drunk. "No."

Just then, something whizzed past my ear. Spinning around, I saw a dagger embedded in the bar. My heart stopped.

"Oh look." Ohkami smiled, pulling the dagger from the wood. "A plastic dagger."

With that, she hurled it toward the door, people jumped out of the way and glared at Ohkami. She just laughed.

"Dämon-Gruppe." I whispered. "We need to get out of here Ohkami."

"Huh?" Ohkami looked at me, confusion evident on her face.

"Just follow me." I said, grabbing Sano by the collar and dragging him out.

When I finally got outside, I sighed. There was some banging behind me as Ohkami emerged from the bar. Jime came out right after her.

"Hey, hic, where are we, hic, going?" Ohkami matched stride with me, but seemed to wobble.

"Mt. Hiei." I glanced over at her.

"Why are we going there?" Sano looked up at me.

"You are going home."

"What?" Ohkami stopped and Sano stared at me.

"I don't want you involved in this Sano." I told him, and then I glanced at Jime. "Neither of you."

"What are you involved in?" Hajime asked. "Roster Head and I might be able to help."

"No." I sighed, letting go of Sano. "Please, I don't want either of you to get hurt."

"Heehee, Hiei! Umm why? Hic." Ohkami was starting to sway.

"Our old friends, Dämon-Gruppe."

"Really? Wow, it's been awhile. Um, who are we talking about again?"

"Just follow me." I sighed. "Sanosuke, Jime, please stay here in Kyoto."

I headed toward the road that led to the mountain. Behind me, I could hear Ohkami as she tried to stay upright. _Damn it, why the hell are those bastards coming after us now? _Sighing, I looked up toward the mountain.

We walked for what seemed like hours, Ohkami finally matching strides with me. As the sun started to fall behind Ohkami finally spoke.

"Damn. My head hurts. Hey where're we going? And where's the kid and Saito?" Apparently she was finally starting to come out of her drunken stupor.

"Dämon-Gruppe is back, we're going to Mt. Hiei and it wouldn't have been safe if Sano and Hajime had come with us."

"Why? They can take care of themselves."

"Don't you remember what they did to those people in the village?"

"What village?"

"You're hopeless." I sighed, a small smile crossing my face. "Come on, we need to get there before dark."

"Okay." Ohkami smiled and started skipping up the path.

I laughed, but stopped when I saw something fly at Ohkami. Before I could get the words out, an arrow embedded itself in front of her. Ohkami stopped mid skip and stared at the arrow.

"They tried to hit me." She said, looking up at the mountain's summit. "We should go up there and kick their sorry asses!"

With that, she broke into a run. I tried to grab her but her demon speed kept her out of my reach. Inwardly I sighed as I ran, Ohkami never thinks thing through. Just then, I noticed another arrow heading toward her. She slashed through it with her claws and kept running.

I followed her when suddenly something hit my shoulder. Blood started to soak my shirt. An arrow had managed to hit my shoulder. Up ahead I could see Ohkami stop and turn around. She must have smelt my blood.

"Those bastards! I'll kill them! But first, we should probably do something about your shoulder..." She growled before doing a healing spell on my shoulder.

Looking back at the mountain she bounded off again. It was about then that I noticed an opening in the mountain. Apparently Ohkami had been really preoccupied with killing them because she ran right past it.

"Uh, Ohkami, you missed it."

"Will you look at that." Ohkami turned around and saw that entrance.

A small smile crossed my face and I shook my head as I reached the entrance. Inside I saw Ohkami standing over the bodies of security guards. One had claw marks on his chest and another had a boot mark on his face. Others had injuries that made Izumi queasy. Ohkami giggled.

"Security here sucks." She smiled.

"Next time wait for me. Besides, you're injured." I pointed to her shoulder.

"What this? Oh come on, I'm a demon remember? I can handle a little cut like this easy..."

With that, she headed down a random tunnel at the other side of the room. I shook my head again. _Ohkami, you are going to be the death of me._ I followed her down the tunnel. We hadn't even gotten ten steps when about ten men attacked us. Grimacing, I pulled out my sword and started to fend them off.

Ohkami put her hands together and shot out a huge burst of energy. It decapitated five of them. She smiled and kicked another one between the legs.

"I'll leave the rest for you Izumi, don't want to steal all of the fun." She smiled.

"Thanks." I said sarcastically, sending the last man to the ground. "Let's go."

I headed down the corridor and came to a metal door. When I pulled it open I almost passed out. Ohkami must have noticed me go white.

"What's wrong?" She asked, coming closer.

Inside was about a thousand headless corpses, all of which were covered in blood. I've seen bloodshed on battlefields, but nothing like this. I was speechless as I walked inside.

"Oh shit." I heard Ohkami say as she walked in behind me.

I turned around to see her holding her head. Her skin was a pale white and her normally blue eyes had a hint of red in them now.

"You alright?" I questioned, taking a step towards her.

"I'm fine." She let go of her head. "Just…really…hungry."

"Let's keep moving." I motioned to a door on the other side of the room.

Thankfully, there were no more corpses in this room. As I walked in, I tried to find an exit. Then I heard the door slam shut and the smell of blood filled the room.

"There must be some sort of trap door or false wall." I said, trying to find one.

Behind me Ohkami fell to her knees and grabbed her head. I could see her eyes tint with red and her hair started to change from silver and black to bright red.

"We've got to do something quick or I'm gonna totally lose it..." She whispered.

"There's no way out."

Suddenly Ohkami stood up and a beam of light shot out of her hands. The door was destroyed and there was a hole for us to get through. Both of us climbed out as fast as we could. I looked down the corridor when I spotted something. There was another door at the end of the hall.

"I wonder why we didn't see that one." I mused as I headed toward it.

Ohkami opened it and we both walked in. The room had an eerie feel to it. Something wasn't right.

"Welcome ladies." A man's voice came from the other side of the room.

"What do you want?" I growled.

"To get revenge. You two destroyed Dämon-Gruppe and now you must pay. Get them."

Twenty men appeared out of nowhere. I pulled my sword from its sheath and started to block blows. Ohkami was fighting behind me, and from the sound of it, she was really pissed. It took us only seconds to dispatch all of the men. The leader shrank back toward the back wall.

"Ok, how bout this. I'll split him in half, then you can take the top half and I'll have the bottom..." Ohkami smiled, taking a step towards the trembling figure.

"Fine by me." I smirked, watching him squirm.

"Wait, please, don't kill me. I only wanted to test you, to see if the two of you were good enough to join the Yami group." He said desperately.

"Oh really?" I asked sarcastically.

"I think we passed." Ohkami smirked.

"I would like you two to join us. We can rebuild Dämon-Gruppe, the three of us can rule the world." He looked at them hopefully.

"If we really wanted to take over the world, we wouldn't _need_ your help. So you wanted to kill half of him, right?" Ohkami laughed.

"Of course."

Suddenly, a strong feeling came over me, a feeling I hadn't felt in years. I wanted to kill this man, to paint the streets with his blood. Closing my eyes, I leaned against a wall, trying to repress the feeling. After a few seconds I opened my eyes back up. Ohkami was standing over the leader, claws ready. Her eyes were filled with delight.

"Ohkami." I sighed. "Don't kill him. We'll take him back to Kyoto. Hajime can take him to the station."

"What? Why not?" Ohkami turned to look at me, her eyes filled with confusion.

"If we kill him, we're just letting him get off." I looked at him. "Let him answer for his crimes in the courts."

"Oh fine…" Her ears drooped as she picked him up by the collar.

"Once we get back to Kyoto and this bastard is behind bars, I'll buy you a drink kid." I let a faint smile cross my face.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" She said with the biggest smile on her face.

The smile didn't fade as they made their way down the mountain. I was starting to regret my decision when we got to the bar. Ohkami ordered a keg of beer and drank it all in less than a minute. She gave me the puppy dogface but I managed to resist. Unfortunately, the bartender couldn't and she was thoroughly drunk by the time that we got out of there.

Sighing, I plopped down on my bed. I'd just dropped Ohkami off with Sano, though I doubt that it was a wise idea. Then again, I really didn't care. Lately, I've been getting urges to kill just about every other day. It was starting to scare me.

With one last look around the room, I closed my eyes and entered the land of dreams.

* * *

There was a glint in his eyes as he looked at me. His eyes were filled with hatred, why, I didn't know. I didn't even know who this man was, hell I didn't care. He had drawn his sword, which was enough.

His breathing was labored, we hadn't even started fighting but by the looks of his clothes, he had just escaped another battle. He looked like a rebel. Good, maybe now I could figure out how well the side I'm fighting for really is.

"Who are you?" He gasped, trying to catch his breath.

"Why would a man who is about to die want to know the name of his killer?" I growled, letting a smirk come over my face.

He paled considerably. Something inside me snapped. I could feel warmth growing inside me. It made me want to spill his blood, to take his life. Without even realizing it, I killed him. His body lay on the ground, blood pouring out. For a second, I was in ecstasy but then it faded. I was left feeling even emptier than when I'd begun.

"Good, you killed him." A familiar voice said behind me.

"Of course Captain." I replied, looking behind me.

"A message came for you. Apparently your mother is ill again." Saitou told me, standing next to me.

"Well, it appears that I will have to go back to her." I sighed. "With your permission, of course."

"Of course. We are going to miss you here Michi, you are one of our best."  
"Thank you sir. Hopefully my mother will be better soon."

"Let us all hope."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Yoshi Shindo yelled, pounding his fist on the table.

"My job." I replied, not paying any attention to him.

"Your job is to spy on the Shinsengumi and tell us of their plans, not kill our people." His voice was filled with anger.

"If they get in my way I will not hesitate to kill them." I growled; my patience was growing thin.

"Get out of my sight."

"Gladly."

I stormed out of the room, and into the cool outside air. The wind made me shiver a bit, but I ignored it. Behind me I could hear someone walk up and stop behind me. For some reason, I knew who it was.

"What the hell do you want Sagara?" My voice was dripping with rage.

"I could ask you the same question." His voice was the opposite of mine, calm and collected, it annoyed the hell out of me.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I whirled around, and glared at him.

"What the hell has gotten into you Izumi? You knew that Tori was one of our men and you killed him just the same."

"And I enjoyed it too. The bastard had it coming."

"No he didn't." Finally I was getting some emotion out of the heartless bastard.

"Who cares?"

"I do Izumi."

"Go to hell Sagara." I turned to walk away, but he caught my wrist and turned me back to him.

"Why are you doing this Izumi?" His voice had returned to normal.

"Why do you care?"

"Izumi…" He brought his hand up to touch my cheek.

"Don't touch me." I hit his hand away, glaring at him. My voice was like ice. "Get someone else to be your whore Sagara, because I won't."

"Izumi…"

I turned and strode off, not listening to him. The wind was cold and it went right through my clothes. Shivering, I made my way back to my room. Inside, I sighed and tore off my clothes and lay on the mat. Pulling the covers all the way up to my chin, I closed my eyes and slept.

* * *

"Izumi…" Someone's voice pulled me from sleep. "Izumi."

"Hmm?" I rubbed my eyes and blinked.

Hajime was sitting behind me, and I was leaned up against him. His hand was gently playing with my hair. A small smile came over his face when he saw that I was awake. I couldn't help but smile at him.

"Good morning." I whispered.

"Good morning." He kissed the top of my head.

"When did you get here?"

"Not long ago."

"I'd get up but I'm too tired."

"Then don't, we have all day."

Suddenly, there was a bang from the other side of the house and the sound of someone running followed it. Instinctively, I grabbed my sword and Hajime stood up. Ohkami threw open my bedroom door.

"Guess whose back." She panted. "Lord Stick-up-his-ass."

"Lord Toshi?" I got up out of bed.

"Yup, and the talking dragon too."

Ohkami led me outside and there was Lord Toshi and the dragon. His face changed drastically when he saw me, as if he was dreading what was going to happen.

"There is no need to bring humans into this." Lord Toshi glared at Ohkami. "Especially not weak women."

"Just tell her what you told me." Ohkami growled.

"Fine." He sighed and mumbled something.

"What did you say?" Ohkami looked like she was going to eat him.

"Nothing Your Majesty. Anyway, a portal has opened up and demons are now able to get into the human world."

"Wasn't there a portal open anyway?" I questioned.

"Yes, however the Royal Court controlled the portal. Now one has opened up at the far end of Demon World. The Royal Court does not regulate this one and many demons are escaping into this world."

"Why don't you just close the portal?"

"We cannot, there is an army of demons guarding it. None of our warriors are strong enough to defeat it."

"So you want us to defeat them?"

"There is more to it. Stupid human." He mumbled.

"What did you say you little asshole?" Ohkami's voice was threatening, even to me.

"Nothing." He bowed his head. "Anyway, there is a man controlling the portal, he goes by the name Denique Nex. He said that he would not surrender to anyone. Also, he said that he wanted to find the one of the demons of the revolution, Kitsune Majin."

"What?"

"He told the messengers that the Kitsune Majin was a master killer, with a thirst for blood equaling his own. We must find this Kitsune Majin, and prevent them from joining him."

"Yes we must." I whispered.

"Have you heard of this person?" The dragon asked me.

"Long ago, I knew the Kitsune Majin."

"Well then you will probably be able to help us find him." Lord Toshi said. "And stop him from joining Denique Nex."

"The Kitsune Majin died a long time ago."

"Then his search is in vain."

"No, it isn't."

"But you just said that this fellow was dead."

"Sometimes the dead grow restless." I whispered, looking over the horizon towards the city.

_Why does fate seem to take pleasure in making me suffer?_ I thought as I tried to fight back the urge of a manslayer.

A/N: I hope that makes up for not posting in lets see…over 2 months… (cringes) Sorry about that. I've kind of been on an original story-writing spree. Anyway, I wanted to clear something up, last chapter I said that Okita was killed during the Ikeda-ya Affair and I forgot to mention that I messed with history a little bit. Okita actually died of tuberculosis during the first year of the Meiji, at least according to my sources. So, yeah, now that's off my chest. I hope you enjoyed Chapter 13 of Kitsune Majin!


	14. King Hiroshi and the Message

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, I, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Thank you to ohkamimajin for reviewing! Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores! A double line means flash back. Broken line means scene change.

* * *

"So this is the portal thingy?" Ohkami stared at a large steel door that sat in the middle of a clearing, somewhere in the forest. "It looks different."

"It is. The other one was a temporary portal." Lord Toshi said, glancing back at us before sneering.

"You seemed to like humans last time." Ohkami growled after noticing his look.

"Last time it was not a matter of the safety of Demon World."

The door opened and the light temporarily blinded me. When it disappeared, we were in front of the castle. Lord Toshi set off at a brisk walk towards it and we had no other choice than to follow. He led us inside and we found ourselves in the Throne Room.

"This is where His Majesty used to sit." Toshi sighed, nodding towards the old throne.

"Who?" Ohkami looked curious.

"The King of Demon World." He stood up straighter. "King Hiroshi."

"What happened to him?"

"Assassinated. A week after your parents disappeared."

"Wait a minute, if I'm the Princess of Demon World, then that guy was related to me, right?"

"He was your Great-Grandfather."

"What happened to her Grandfather?" Sano questioned.

"It was such a tragedy, no one knows the details, but it had something to do with beer, porcupines, and a talking toothbrush."

"Now I know where Ohkami gets it from." I smiled.

"I know what someone would be doing with beer, but porcupines and a talking toothbrush?" Ohkami looked a little bewildered.

"Anyway." Lord Toshi said. "I am sure that Your Majesty would like to know more about Denique Nex."

"Hell yeah."

"I'm afraid it will have to wait though."

"What? Why?"

"We must get ready for the ball."

The look on Ohkami's face was priceless.

* * *

After many hours of convincing Ohkami to actually put on the dress, we were finally at the ball. It was very much like the other ones we'd gone to, except this time, there was more of a gloomy feel. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something wasn't right.

"Ohkami, put down the beer."

"But I just want a sip."

There was laughter behind us. It was an elderly man, and for some reason, he was familiar, but I couldn't place him.

"The Princess is just like our former King." He smiled.

"Umm, I don't want to be rude, but who are you?" Ohkami questioned.

"My name is Goro, I was the King's Military Advisor before he was killed."

"Why would a demon need a military advisor?"

"That is a good question."

"So, since you knew my great-grandfather, maybe you could tell me about him."

"You never knew him, did you?"

"Nope."

"He was a great man." I could see his eyes start to get watery. "There was never a hungry child in the country. It was like that for about a thousand years. Then of course, he took in Asesino."

"Asesino, doesn't that mean killer in Spanish?" I asked.

"You're a smart one." He smiled. "Well, the King took Asesino in, thinking that he would become a great artist. A few months later, he was found dead in his room and Asesino was nowhere to be found."

"Bastard." Ohkami whispered.

Something wasn't right; I didn't know why I suddenly felt it. Outside I could hear what sounded like hoof beats. There was a momentary silence before all hell broke loose.

One of the walls exploded and showered people with plaster. I ducked behind a support column while Ohkami did the same. Instinctively, I reached for my sword and cursed when I realized it wasn't there. Out of my good eye I could see Ohkami dart out from behind the column. She must have seen something.

Screams made me look up; the chandelier had been cut from its wires and began swinging precariously. There was a loud snap and it hurtled towards the ground. People scurried away and I nearly got trampled. The chandelier hit the ground with a loud crash and shards of crystal went everywhere. I felt a couple of pieces hit me.

"Izumi, are you alright." Hajime's voice was behind me, and I felt a hand on my arm.

"I'm fine. Are you alright?"

"Fine."

"Well then, let's see if we can find out what's going on."

He went towards the front entrance, while I tried to find Ohkami and Sano. More walls began to crumble and a couple of times I was nearly crushed. There was a stampede of demons, so it was almost impossible for me to move. However, I managed to make my way to the musician's area. It was long since abandoned, so I could move freely.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ohkami dragging Sano though the crowd. I was about to yell to them when something made me stop. Above them was a dragon, much bigger than the one who'd come with Lord Toshi. It smirked before shooting flames at them. They managed to dodge, but barely.

Laughter behind her made Ohkami freeze, and I looked up. Standing not fifteen feet away from her was a young man wearing what looked like an old kimono. He had brown hair and a pair of fox ears. Though evil didn't radiate from him, his smile sent chills down her spine.

"Greetings Princess." His voice was silky.

"Who the hell are you?" Ohkami growled, shoving Sano behind her.

"Asesino is my name."

"You're the bastard who killed my Great-grandfather."

"Please, refrain from using such language. I'm sure Hiroshi is turning in his grave hearing his great granddaughter swearing."

"Bite me asshole. Now tell me why you're here or I'll kill you."

"Temper, temper. I am just here to deliver a message from Denique Nex."

"What does he want?"

"He says that he will find the Kitsune Majin and you will have no choice but to

surrender."

"Tell him that she's dead!" I yelled at him.

"And who are you?" He looked startled at an outsider interrupting the conversation.

"My name isn't important. Just tell Denique Nex that the Kitsune Majin is dead."

"Is that so. Well, whoever you are, you must know that the dead grow restless."

With that, he threw something to the ground and was engulfed by smoke. There were a few screams, but I didn't really pay attention to them. Instead I made my way over to Ohkami, who looked reasonably shaken.

"You okay kid?"

"Fine."

"Sano?"

I didn't get a response.

"Sano?"

"He's drunk." Ohkami informed me.

"Okay, I thought he was hurt."

"This is bigger than we thought, isn't it?" Her eyes were filled with worry.

"Yeah, it is."

"I think we might be over our heads this time."

"Probably."

* * *

A/N: I know this chapter is short, but I really just needed a chapter to transition from Human world to Demon world. I hope everyone enjoys, and just to let you know, this is the beginning of the end for Kitsune Majin. It can't keep going on forever, but don't worry, there are six more chapters to go. Anyway, read and review! 


	15. A Fire's Power

I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Ohkami is a friend of mine, ohkamimajin. This is based on an RP that Ohkami, I, and a few other people did a few years ago. In this fic, Saito is not married. Reviews are welcome, flames mean more s'mores! A double line means flash back.Solid line means scene change.

* * *

The pain engulfed me and I wanted to scream. But I couldn't, not now. Flames were engulfing my home; I had to get out. It was no use trying to save my family, Mibu's wolves had seen to that.

Outside I could hear the villagers screaming, someone was yelling water. I tried to get towards the voices, but the fire blocked my way. By now the smoke was starting to overcome me. There was no way out.

"No." I gasped.

A loud crack above me made my heart stop. I looked up to see one of the beams on the ceiling begin to fall. Quickly rolling away, it barely missed me. In front of me, I saw an opening the beam had created. Struggling to my feet, I managed to get through it.

Coughing, I managed to find my way to an old tree at the side of the yard. I collapsed underneath it and stared at my home, now completely engulfed by flames. There was nothing I could do, and I was so tired. Without realizing it, my eyes closed and I fell asleep.

* * *

The sunlight was warm on my eyelids. Slowly, I opened them and yawned. Then I caught sight of the smoldering ruins. Anger and fear coursed through my veins.

_Who the hell do they think they are? My family never did anything to them!_ Out of the corner of my eye I could see something moving in the ruins. Several young men were foraging. One of them held up something; it was my father's sword!

"Hey you!" I yelled, standing up. "Get away from there!"

"Hey look." The one with the sword smiled. "It's the idiot samurai's daughter."

The rest of the group laughed.

"Leave that alone." I marched up to him.

"And who is going to make me?" He asked. "You?"

"If you don't leave now, yes."

I got into a fighting stance. The group laughed.

"You think you can beat me?"

I kept quiet.

"Alright, I'll humor you." He tossed me my father's sword before drawing his own. "You beat me, we'll leave."

The battle lasted less than five seconds. I had pinned the punk to the ground, and kicked away his sword.

"Now let that be a lesson." I growled, leaning towards him. "Never mess with the Togashi family. Now get."

They ran faster than our family cat chased by our Akita. I couldn't help but laugh as I saw them tripping over themselves to get away from me. Something moved behind me and I froze.

"You're an excellent fighter." A man said.

I spun around to see a tall, dark haired man. He was reasonably good looking, carried a katana and wore an old kimono. Instinctively, I got ready to fight.

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded.

"I am Souzou Sagara." He smiled. "The rebels sent me to recruit."

"What would they want with a woman?"

"We need someone to undertake a dangerous mission."

"Good luck."

"I noticed your skills."

"You said that already."

"Would you consider-"

"Working for you? No." I turned to look at the ruins. "The Shinsengumi thought my father was, now look at what's left."

"We need good fighters. Besides, if this is all that's left, you have nothing to lose."

"What if I don't want to work for you?" I glared at him. "I'm not nearly a good enough fighter anyway."

"We can train you."

"I'm a woman."

"That'll help us. They won't suspect you of working for us."

"What would I be doing?"

"We need someone to infiltrate the Shinsengumi."

"I won't be a whore."

"No, we need someone in the ranks, preferably close to the leaders."

"I'm sure there are dozens of young men who'd love to help you."

"We can't trust them, it's impossible to know who's working for the shogunate."

"Then why are you trusting me?"

"Because it's apparent the Shinsengumi don't like you. Besides, you're one of the best fighters I've seen in a long time."

I stood there for a moment, not knowing quite what to say. He was offering me a chance for revenge, revenge for what they'd done to my family.

"I've got nothing to lose." I said. "I'll do it."

"Alright." He smiled again. "Now, how about you tell me your name."

"Suki, Suki Togashi."

"Not anymore. We'll make sure that it is circulated through the town that you died in the fire. From now on, you are Izumi."

* * *

"What is your name?" A rather large man asked from the other side of the room.

"Michi Takihashi." I replied, looking straight ahead.

"You are the first woman to apply for the Shinsengumi."

"My father was killed by those bastard rebels. They need to be eradicated. I believe it doesn't matter whether you're male or female, as long as you can fight."

"Very true, very true." He mumbled, looking down at a paper in front of him. "Well, it seems that you defeated Captain Soji in your mock battle. Very impressive. It may be unorthodox, but I would like for you to join the Shinsengumi."

"Thank you Sir." I bowed to him.

"You will be joining the 3rd Unit, Captain-"

Just then, the door slid open. A tall, dark haired man came in and bowed to the man.

"My apologies Captain Isami." He said.

"Oh, I was just talking about you Saitou. This is Michi Takihashi, she will be joining your unit."

"Of course Sir."

Captain Isami made me wait outside while he talked to Saitou. When they were done, Saitou stepped outside and turned to me.

"Come, I will show you were you are going to sleep."

He led me through the compound.

"You must be very good if they decided to allow you membership."

"I guess so."

"Have you ever killed anyone before?"

"No, but there are several people I would like to see dead."

"Well, rest up." He told me as we reached an old building. "You're patrolling tonight."

The day flew by and soon it was night. I met the rest of the unit at the gate. My heart was racing as we headed out. All of the past months of training were kicking in, my instincts were heightened and I glanced around me.

A scream broke the night air. The group around me froze for a moment before sprinting off in the direction of it. I followed them as they ran. We came to a restaurant, a young woman stood outside, sobbing. She pointed at something behind me and I whirled around.

There was a man standing in the shadows. He broke into a grin when he saw me.

"Oh look, a woman in Shinsengumi clothes. They must be running out of men willing to work for this stupid government. You must be good. Let's test you."

He lunged at me. It didn't feel like it was I reacting, more like I was watching it. My sword was drawn and the next thing I knew, he was on the ground, blood flowing from his neck and his head rolling off into the bushes. The woman screamed again.

My heart was racing and my hands were probably shaking. A feeling of euphoria engulfed me. It felt so good. I closed my eyes. _Amazing._

* * *

My Sakabato cut through the bamboo without a problem. The strike had met its mark and now I turned to the next target. Three down, four, five, I kept going. Finally I stood back; there were splinters of bamboo everywhere.

My heart was still pounding, but I didn't notice. Something moved behind me and I spun around, my sword drawn. It was Jime.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned, sheathing my sword.

"I couldn't find you Izumi."

"Maybe there is a reason for that."

"What are you talking about?"

"Leave me alone."

"Izumi?"

"You heard me." I growled.

He took a step towards me. In a flash my sword was drawn and heading towards his neck. It clashed against his, but I took no notice, only striking again. Each time he blocked, but I kept going. Then, my sword was knocked from my grasp and he grabbed me. I struggled for a moment before stopping.

"Izumi." He whispered, pulling me to him.

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you doing this?"

"I have to get as close as I can to Kitsune Majin in order to be able to defeat Denique Nex."

"You sound like Battousai."

"It's true."

"What's wrong with fighting the way you have for the past ten years?"

"I can't see."

"Tell me the real reason."

"I can't keep living like that." I sighed. "I'm just fooling myself. I'm not Izumi Takihashi; I'm the Kitsune Majin. A killer."

"No you aren't."

"Really? This is what I've always been, ever since the Shinsengumi killed my family. Suki Togashi, Izumi, and Michi Takihashi are all dead."

"No they aren't." He spun me around to face him.

"Don't pull that."

"What?"

"I won't be hurt again."

I pushed him away and strode towards the palace. Something caught my eye as I moved towards the door. Ohkami and Sano were standing in a corner smiling at each other.

"I love you." Sano smiled.

"I love you more." Ohkami smiled back.

"No, I love you more."

"No, I do."

"Ohkami." He laughed.

"I know, we love each other the same."

There was a pang in my heart and I turned away.

"Enjoy it while it lasts." I muttered, glancing back at them. "Because it won't for long."

* * *

A/N: Next chapter will be out soon. Other than that, I hope everyone enjoyed.


	16. Gone

Disclaimer: Don't own them, never will.

* * *

Everything around me was dark. Night had fallen early in Demon World and everyone was in bed. That was, except me. I couldn't sleep, so I'd taken to pacing my room. It was exactly twelve paces, by twenty.

"Damn it." I sighed, stopping for a moment.

_Why can't I just get this out of my head? I'll never be able to fight Denique Nex without sleep. I have to figure this out now. _

Plopping down on the bed, I reclined against some pillows. The canopy above was white with red flowers sewn into it.

_I have to push Hajime away; it's the only way I can reach Kitsune Majin._

The flowers were arranged in a circle pattern around the canopy.

_If I don't, then the same thing will happen. My love will prevent me from reaching that level. _

The circle extended onto the drapes around the bed.

_Denique Nex won't be defeated unless I get to that level. Kitsune Majin will come back, but then again, I'm really no one else. _

They surrounded me, wrapping me in a sea of red.

_I never have been, and I never will be. I'll always be the Kitsune Majin._

The red felt so familiar.

_"I never meant to turn you into this."_

I sat bolt upright. It had sounded like he'd just said that in my ear.

"Souzou?"

There was no answer. A gust of wind made me jump. Curtains were billowing, but I couldn't remember opening that window. I stood up to go over to shut it.

_"I'm so sorry Izumi."_

There it was again! It couldn't have been my imagination, it was too clear.

"What the hell is going on?" I whispered to myself.

_"I love you."_

"I have to get out of here." I gasped, racing towards the door.

My footsteps echoed through the halls as I ran. Everything looked the same. Finally I came to balcony overlooking the forest. It was quiet, as if no other creature was awake. The wind blew again, making me shiver.

_What the hell is going on? I swear, I just heard Souzou, but that' s impossible. He's dead. I saw it happen. Damn, I must be going crazy._

A sudden drowsiness overcame me. It felt like I was going to fall asleep where I stood. Leaning against the wall, I tried to fight it, but my knees were slowly giving way. Sliding down, I felt my eyelids close. It was a losing battle.

* * *

"Izumi!"

I was jolted awake.

"Izumi!" It was Ohkami's voice.

There was the sound of someone running. The doors to the balcony opened with a crack. She stood there panting, her face bright red.

"What is it?" I scrambled to my feet.

"They're gone."

"Who?"

"All the men?"

"What?"

"They've disappeared."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, they're only women here. Saitou, Sano, Lord Toshi, all of them, gone."

"No." I gasped.

I took off towards the men's rooms. They couldn't be gone, they couldn't. My feet pounded, and I heard Ohkami behind me. We came to a screeching halt at the door.

Sano's room looked like he'd just gotten up and gone to the bathroom. The bed was slept in; half of the covers were on the bed, and the other half on the floor. I was half expecting him to just walk out of the bathroom. He would laugh at us for worrying, but he didn't come out.

Next door it was the same case. Hajime's bed was rumpled, but not nearly as Sano's. His jacket was draped over a chair in the back. Then I noticed something; the door to the balcony was open. Both of the drapes were blowing in the wind. On the balcony, there was mud on the railing. It looked like someone had jumped.

"Look." Ohkami pointed to something on the ground.

"Footprints."

"Where could they have gone to?"

"Where is a good place." A voice echoed throughout the room.

"Who are you?" Ohkami growled.

"Denique Nex. Now Princess, be quiet, I want to talk to Kitsune Majin."

"What did you do to them?" I demanded.

"They are safe, for now. Actually, their safety depends on you."

"I won't join you."

"Come now, I know you want to kill. If you join me you can kill whenever you want."

"Where are they?"

"First you have to find me Kitsune Majin. And then maybe I will be able to convince you."

"I doubt that highly. You've kidnapped my friends-"

"Who you were trying to push away, come one, you can't be regretting that?"

"I regret a lot of things. Now tell me where you are!"

"Wolves' Point. I look forward to seeing you two."

The voice faded and Ohkami looked at me.

"That's where the Orb of Death was."

"Yeah."

"Do you think it's safe?"

"It doesn't matter, we have to go."

"You're right. When do we leave?"

* * *

"Hey Izumi."

"Yeah?"

We climbed over a couple of boulders.

"Why did that guy said you pushed Sano and Saitou away?"  
"I didn't want them to get hurt."

"You're going to try and be Kitsune Majin again, aren't you?"

"It's the only way I can defeat Denique Nex."

"What about me? Am I chop suey?"

"No, there is still going to be Asesino. You need to fight that battle. He killed your great-grandfather."

"You're right."

We kept walking.

"Be careful Izumi."

"What are you talking about?"

"I remember what happened back when we faced Nagakura. You were ready to kill him. That's not the Izumi I know."

"I'm sorry Ohkami, but that's the Izumi whose fighting Denique Nex."

"But-"

"I won't be able to defeat him otherwise."

"How do you know he's that powerful?"

"He has that portal to the Human World, remember? Anyone who can do that has to be powerful."

"Just let me fight him."

"No, I'm not going to let the one who hates doctors get hurt." She laughed at that. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

She smiled a bit, but I could tell that she didn't believe me. Nevertheless, she dropped it. I was thankful.

_I'm so sorry Ohkami, but I can't let you get involved. This guy wants to fight me because of who I am and what I did. He must be strong, and I'm the only one who has a chance to defeat him. _

_"Izumi, you're not Kitsune Majin."_

_That voice again!_

_"I wish I had never made you into this."_

_Leave me alone!_

_"You can stop it."_

_No!_

"You alright Izumi?" Ohkami's voice broke my train of thought.

"Yeah, just thinking." I smiled.

It was getting dark and we needed to set up camp. After several minutes of Ohkami nearly burning the forest down, I made the campfire. We sat around it for several hours in silence. Suddenly, I heard a snoring noise and looked over. Ohkami had fallen asleep. I couldn't help but smile.

_"You don't have to do this Izumi. You're stronger than the Kitsune Majin."_

_No, I'm not._

I sighed, pulling my jacket tighter. It was cold out. Despite that, my eyelids were heavy. Slowly, they closed, and I fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: And there is Chapter 16. Hopeeveryone enjoyed. 


	17. It Doesn't Have To Be

Disclaimer: I don't own RK, or Ohkami. Izumi/Michi/Suki/Kitsune Majin is mine though.

* * *

A wet sensation on my face made me open my eyes. Ohkami was in dog form. She was licking my face in an attempt to get me up. As soon as she saw I was awake, she barked and her tale began to wag.

"You're just a ray of sunshine this morning." I laughed as she transformed back to her normal form.

"Well, I was bored." She grinned sheepishly. "Hey, do we have any food?"

"…I thought you were taking care of it."

She shook her head.

"Oh for the love of Ra."

* * *

After much grumbling, Ohkami finally agreed to setting off without breakfast. She complained the whole way up the mountain. It started getting to the point where I was willing to let her stop. The sun was high in the sky when I gave in.

"Alright Ohkami, you stay here while I go up to check it out." I said.

"Oh come on Izumi, you can't be going up there on an empty stomach."

"If you get something good, I just might eat something when I get back, see you in a couple of hours."

With that, I left her in the clearing. It wasn't more than a half hour hike to Wolf's Point. I did it in half that. The cavern was well guarded, several dozen men surrounding it. At least they looked like men from where I was. There was no way I could get close enough to see, they'd made a perimeter about a half mile from the entrance.

Sighing, I headed back. This wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

"So how many men were there?" Ohkami questioned me as I sat across from her at the fire.

"A lot, several dozen at least." I stabbed a piece of fish with my chopstick.

"Human or demon?"

"I couldn't get close enough to see, they had a perimeter about a half mile out."

"Oh well, it's more fun not knowing what kind of morons you're going to be beating up." She smiled, chomping away at her food.

"Where did you find this fish anyway?"

"There was a stream nearby."

"Okay Ohkami. Well, I'm done you want the rest?"

She nearly leapt over the fire to get it. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, I'm going to sleep, you should do the same. We're going to need our strength for tomorrow."

"Okie dokie Izumi." She saluted me.

I smiled before rolling over to sleep.

* * *

The Shinsengumi trusted me and the rebels hated me. I'd never been happier. Sagara was a pain though; he'd kept trying to get me to stop. I won't stop killing. I can't. It's like opium you can't have enough. So what if it kills me? I have nothing to live for. 

"About time I found you Izumi." It was him.

"What do you want now Sagara?" I growled.

"Captain Shindo wishes to know why you haven't reported."

"Tell him to go screw himself."

"What has gotten into you Izumi?"

"Don't talk in riddles."

"I remember when I found you, you'd just fought off a bunch of thieves."

"Be quiet."

"They were trying to find any valuables left in your home."

"I'm warning you."

His voice had stayed the same, but mine had become threatening.

"You were so naïve then."

"SHUT UP!"

I lunged at him, drawing my sword. He blocked and I swung again. The clanging of our swords broke the calm night air. Anger coursed through my veins. How dare he speak that way, Suki is dead, he did that to me.

"Why are you doing this?"

I could barely hear him over the clanging of swords.

"You did this to me!"

His expression changed from one of impassion, to one of shock. I felt his blade drop a little. Then he pushed hard, forcing me away from him.

"You think that I…" His voice had lost its calmness.

"You did."

"Izumi, I-"

"Don't make excuses."

Something else started to fill me. It wasn't anger, instead something more powerful. For some reason, it was strange. Yes I'd felt it before, but that was when I was a child. Fear, hopelessness, regret, all piled into one.

It was as if a dam broke, tears just began flowing down my face. I couldn't stay standing and collapsed to the ground. My sword lay next to me, useless. Footsteps began and got louder then stopped. A pair of legs was in front of me. There was a rustling of clothing, when two arms pulled me tight.

"I'm so sorry Izumi."

"Bastard." My voice was barely a whisper. "Why couldn't you have just left me alone?"

"There's still time. You don't have to be this way forever."

"I can't change. I'm not Suki anymore. She's dead."

"But Izumi isn't."

He made me look in his eyes. Those eyes, they were so different then the ones I'd been seeing for the past year. They were human; they held emotions far beyond what I thought he was capable of. He was human.

"Izumi, I didn't mean to do this to you. Believe me when I say that if I'd known this would happen, I would never have asked you to fight."

"It's too late for your sympathies."

"It's never too late. You don't have to be the Kitsune Majin forever."

And I believed him.

* * *

A/N: I know it's short, but the next chapter will be longer. And the next one is when the fighting begins! 


	18. Battle of the Heart

Disclaimer: Don't own RK or Ohkami. Izumi/Michi/Suki/Kitsune Majin is mine though.

* * *

If there had ever been a time in my life that I needed someone to tell me that everything was going to be all right it was now. Unfortunately those men weren't here. One had disappeared while the other was dead. And with them went a part of me. Now all I have left is my wits, sword, and courage. Oh, and Ohkami too.

Speaking of which, the ball of fir next to me began to move. A soft moan came from it before a head emerged. It'd been a very cold night and she'd decided that she'd be warmer in her wolf form.

"Did you sleep good kid?"

"Hmm?" She stared at me with half open eyes before transforming back. "Do I have to get up?"

"Yes Ohkami."

"Damn."

Moving slower than I thought possible, she sat up and stretched. Eyes sweeping the camp, they came to rest on the empty bowls next to me.

"Sorry, but we don't have anymore food."

"Can't we go and get some?"

"I don't think we have time."

"But Izumi…"

I sighed.

"Fine, we should wait for night anyway. It'll give us the greatest cover."

"Yay! I'll go get us some more fish!"

* * *

Though night had fallen several hours ago, we'd just made our way towards the Wolf's Point. It was our plan to attack when they were the most tired. Throughout the day, we'd taken turns watching and the guards hadn't changed all day. It was most likely that they had 24-hour shifts and only changed in the morning.

Silently, we split up, her coming from the North, I from the South. In the distance I could see her creeping behind them. A snap made me freeze. She did the same. The guards were immediately on alert.

I could hear Ohkami's question in my mind._ "Should we go? Or wait?"_ We had to go. If we wait any longer, it might be too late. She wasn't going to make the first move, so I must.

With a flash of silver, the first guard was down. The second was struck down by a pair of claws. Neither had made a noise, a lucky break for us. For a moment, all we could hear was our breathing. It stayed that way.

The passageway was dark, nearly impossible to see anything to the front. It was Ohkami in front and I nearly ran into her when she stopped. We'd found our way to the labyrinth. It looked more intimidating this time.

"Do you remember how to get to the center?"

"No but-" She froze, her nose twitching. "This way!"

A laugh made her stop mid stride.

"You're males do not wish to see you."

"Who are you?"

"Am I right?"

Out of the shadows came Sanosuke and Saitou. My heart stopped when I saw the look in their eyes. It was hard, as if they could never feel emotion and didn't care what happened to those around them. Even if it meant my death, I would make Denique Nex pay for what he'd done to them.

"You're right Master." Sanosuke smiled.

"The two of you have no business here." That wasn't my Jime.

"What have you done to them?" Ohkami's voice surprised me. It was desperate.

"Nothing we didn't want done. What is it Ohkami, you surprised to find that I don't need you?"

That comment made her step back. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

"Sano…"

"Leave them out of this." I growled.

"They are already involved my Dear."

"Why did you do this to them? What did they do to you?"

"They are what holds you to your sanity. If I take them, then you will again become the Kitsune Majin."

"The Kitsune Majin is dead."

"Ah yes, but we both know that the dead grow restless."

"Not this one."

"I've had enough. Saitou, finish her."

Cold steel brushed my throat. There was a glint in his eyes I'd seen last during the fighting. It sent a chill down my spine.

"Of course Master."

"Jime…"

"Silence wench."

His fist collided with my chin. The ground was unyielding and sent pain through my body. _Hajime…_He stood over me, willing me to get up.

"Only a coward would not rise to fight."

"Hajime stop. I don't want to fight you."

"Heh."

"I know you don't want to fight me."

"It is my mission to destroy evil."

"But Hajime-"

"You are going against all that is just."

"No, you are. If Denique Nex succeeds many innocent people will die."

"Enough." He changed stance, it was one I knew well. "Aku. Soku. Zan."

_

* * *

There was no way that I'm worthy enough to have this perfect love laying next to me now. Yet there he lies, sleeping after the long night. Just thinking about it makes me shiver._

_"I love you." I gently brushed a strand of hair from his eyes. _

_His eyelids fluttered for a moment, before opening lazily. A small smile crossed his handsome features as the gold met my blue. The gentle hand grazed my face._

_"Good morning."_

_I kissed the hand. "Good morning love." _

_He sat up before pulling me to him. I laid my head on his chest, quietly listening to his heartbeat. Arms wrapped around, pulling me tighter. It felt so right. Fingers gently took my chin and pushed it up to meet his gaze._

_"I love you Izumi."_

_His lips met mine. Though it lasted only a few seconds, it felt like a lifetime. And I didn't want it to end. This perfect creature loved me, someone who had deceived and fought against him. _

_"I love you too Jime."_

_As he ran his fingers through my hair, I could feel his body tense. _

_"What is it?"_

_"Hmm?"_

_"You're tense." To add emphasis, I ran my hands over his muscular arms._

_"It's nothing. I was just thinking about Nagakura."_

_I said nothing._

_"And all of the other creatures that have come after us in these past few months. It reminds me of…"_

_"The Shinsengumi."_

_"You never told me why you joined the rebels."_

_"The Shinsengumi thought my father was helping the rebels. So they burnt our farm down. Then Souzou showed up."_

_He tensed at the name, but I kept going._

_"He told me that the rebels needed someone to infiltrate the Shinsengumi. I decided that it would be better than a whorehouse. And if I they found me out, I could take at least a few down with me."_

_All the while, his hands never stopped running through my hair. Once I stopped, my heart stopped. Why did I say that? I should have made something up, anything but that!_

_"Your revenge would have been just."_

_My heart stopped. He didn't just say that._

_"It turned me into something I wasn't. A killer."_

_"It is a natural instinct. If it means we survive, we kill."_

_"You sound like you've had a long time to think about it."_

_"I spent many years trying to figure out why you'd betray us." I tensed when I heard us. "The ideas were much more elaborate then what you just told me. But there was always one constant. Survival. None of us would have killed if it hadn't meant survival of what we thought was just."_

_Silence encased the room. I lay there, listening to his heartbeat. It seemed as if that was the only constant. My own was racing, fearful that he would hate me for what I'd done. I wouldn't be able to handle it if he left. I'd lost someone once, and I didn't want to go through it again._

_"You're heart is racing." His fingers traced patterns on my back in rhythm with my heartbeat._

_"Yes it is."_

_"Why?"_

_"I'm afraid. I don't want to lose you."_

_"Oh Izumi." He pulled me closer, burying his face in my hair. "I'll always be here. And I'll always protect you."_

_"Thank you."_

* * *

I promised myself once we fell in love, that I would never pull my sword on him again. Twice I've broken that promise. Once out of anger. And the second time out of self defense.

Metal clanged as we swung at each other. The impact sent me back towards the wall. It took a moment to spot him again, and I barely dodged his next swing. He was using my sightlessness to his advantage. My only choice was to use the wall to mine.

"You've gotten slower Kitsune Majin."

"I think I'm doing pretty well, considering I have a slight disadvantage."

This time I saw him, and blocked. The counterstrike met its mark, his left shoulder. It didn't faze him. Even as the blood soaked his shirt, he continued to move as if it hadn't occurred.

A growl came from my left. Glancing over, I saw Ohkami dodge several of Sanosuke's strikes and land a couple of her own. Like Hajime, they didn't appear to have any effect. He just kept going after her.

"Izumi, he's immune to pain!"

Laughter filled the room again. "That's my favorite part about this little spell. They will continue to fight until they are dead. Oh, and did I mention that they will always fight with all of their strength? You see, my dear ladies, they feel nothing. Pain, emotions, exhaustion, nothing. Sometimes I even have to remind them to eat." Another laugh followed that. "They are unstoppable."

"No." I heard Ohkami gasp. "Please Sano, don't!"

"It's no use Princess, he only listens to me now."

_No, this can't be happening._ I looked at Hajime. _Please stop._

_"He can't hurt you."_

_What, whose there?_

_"Izumi, he can't hurt you."_

_Souzou? But, it can't be…_

_"I promised you that I'd always be there."_

_But-_

_"Just listen to me. He can't hurt you because he loves you."_

_Denique Nex is controlling him. And he said that Jime can't feel emotions._

_"No spell can stop love."_

_I hope you're right because I don't want to lose him._

_"You won't Izumi. Listen to me. The two of you will raise your children and grow old together. Don't lose faith in him."_

_I won't. _

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates. I just finished this a couple of hours ago. Hope you enjoyed. Please review! 


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